Naruto in Wonderland
by Our Bleeding Shadow
Summary: AU. Naruto is Alice in this Alice in Wonderland spoof. Follow him as he meets each individual character as he tries to go home. But when the Hatter falls for Naruto, he's put in danger as the Red Queen wants the Hatter for herself. What could possibly happen in this world of madness? SasuNaru.
1. Chapter 1: Welcome to Wonderland

**A/N: This is being written for my friend who requested me to write this. The pairing is SasuNaru as that is what she's obsessed with. X3 **

**So, please... Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in anyway, nor the characters. **

**- Our Bleeding Shadow**

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**Chapter 1: Welcome to Wonderland **

******Words: **2,620

A splitting pain erupted in his head, causing the blonde to groan weakly as he eased his eyes open and looked around in bewilderment. Where was he? Last he'd remembered, he'd been following a little rabbit - a little white rabbit - that was all. Reaching up tenderly, Naruto ran his fingers through his blonde spikes before pausing over the area where the pain had came from. He'd hit his head, that much was apparent. As his blue eyes took in his surroundings, a frown became visible on his features. _How did he get here?_

Timidly, the small male rose to his feet before brushing down his clothes and realising that the soft, silken fabric under his fingers was not his t-shirt and jeans. Looking down, his eyes fell on a blue suit of sorts and the frown eased onto his face more as he made a shocked sound that sounded more like a cat being strangled. His lips shut and parted, the fear now taking hold in his eyes.

"Stop pulling that face, you look like a fish out of water. It's making me hungry, that's such a drag!" A grumbled voice came from the left of him. Jumping, Naruto spun, taking in the person before him. They had black, slick hair, pulled back in a bushy spiked ponytail and small onyx eyes. What really struck the blonde as surprising was the two cat ears that were poking out of his head either side.

"Wow..." Was the only word that slipped through his lips as the smaller then looked straight at the person with a wide eyed look of amazement. The cat person just sighed, sitting down where he was and folding his arms as he leaned back into the tree that was conveniently behind him.

"Stop staring, Alice. It's boring me." He spoke, his eyes still focused on Naruto as he flushed and fumed at the name he'd been called.

"My name isn't Alice!" The blue-eyed male screeched at him, folding his arms across his chest in anger, "My name is Naruto, stupid cat!"

"And mine is Shikamaru, Alice. I'm the Cheshire Cat, not the stupid cat." Shikamaru stated bluntly, closing his eyes and he moved his hands behind his head. At the use of the other name again, Naruto fumed more. His petite frame quivering in frustration, his small hands now balled into fists by his side.

"I told you! It's Naruto not Alice!"

"That doesn't matter here." The reply was rather blunt, making the blonde's eyes widen as he stared at the cat with a scared expression as he choked on his words, "It doesn't matter, you will be called Alice. Even if your name is not." His beady black eyes opened and watched the blue eyes widen more as they watered slightly.

"B-But... Why?" Naruto choked out, his whiskered cheeks puffing out as he jutted out his chin in an attempt to stop his shaking so Shikamaru would not know of the tears that threatened to fall.

"Because anyone who comes here after the rabbit becomes Alice, there is no way to avoid it, it's a drag, right?"

Choking again, the blue eyes widened even more, his arms flailing as he yelled, "But where _is_ here!?" His voice was strained as he wanted answers from the annoying pest that just kept his cool and spoke like he knew everything.

Shikamaru chuckled lightly at his outbursts, his cat ears twitching as he, once again, closed his eyes with a small smirk crawling onto his lips, "Welcome to Wonderland, Alice. This world is completely mad, keep hold of your sanity."

"W-What's that supposed to mean, stupid cat!?" The blonde yelped, his ears tinting red as he once again started to lose his temper with the animal, his eyes narrowing at it as he puffed out his cheeks more.

"You'll see." The Cheshire Cat smirked, his eyes snapping open as if to taunt the smaller before slowly vanishing, that goddamn smirk remained for a few seconds after the rest of him disappeared before fading too. Scooping up a small stone, Naruto lobbed the stone at the tree to make sure Shikamaru was gone and not just taunting him from under an invisibility cloak of some sort.

It rebounded off the bark, landing on the floor and just lying there. Growling in anger, the small male kicked at the ground, storming over to the tree before frantically stamping his foot where that damned cat had been. His whole frame was quivering with the rage that boiled in his veins. That conversation had _not _been any help to him at all, after all, where was Wonderland and how was he supposed to find his way home?

He just scowled as he let his body fall to the floor and just lay there, staring up at the sky through the partings in the leaves as he let out a sigh of annoyance. Reaching up, he ran his hand through his spiked hair, grumbling to himself about dumb rabbits and very, very idiotic cats. When Naruto succeeded in getting home, he swore to never follow any type of rabbit again. Ever! Rabbits had gotten him into enough trouble.

A blur of movement to his left made him shoot up into a sitting position as he tensed slightly and climbed to his feet. The small male's blue eyes the falling onto the left of his side as he searched for whatever had flew past him in such a hurry. Trying to relax, shake it off as the wind, he then noticed a single black orb watching him from the bushes. The other was covered up by some sort of mask that also covered his mouth.

Narrowing his eyes, he saw the mop of silver hair upon the other's head and the twin, white bunny ears protruding from his head. The face still watched him from the bushes, thinking it was unseen but the blonde merely scowled and folded his arms across his chest to make the rabbit know it was being observed. But still, the stupid thing didn't move.

Grumbling under his breath, Naruto turned his back, hearing the bushes rustle as it either moved back into them or out into the open. Hopefully the latter.

As soon as he felt the breath ghosting on the back of his neck, he spun round only to come face to face with the rabbit who was grinning slyly at him before flicking his nose. That just caused the smaller to growl at the rabbit before it checked its watch and gasped slightly. His single eye, the visible one, widened and he turned his back to dart off toward the bushes once again.

Now that the tall being was closer, the blonde could see that he was very thin, the slender waistcoat he wore was still ever so slightly baggy round his stomach. The smart charcoal trousers had a belt to hold them up, then to top it off he had black formal shoes upon his feet, but they were scuffed in places. Probably where he seemed to always be dashing about. The boy only just managed to stifle his laughter as he caught a glimpse of the white cotton tail as the rabbit vanished into the bushes again. Just _where _was he going?

Curiosity rising, Naruto's mind threw out his resolve to not follow the male and ran after him. He puzzled about what happened to not following rabbits anymore, but his mind argued that he might lead him to the exit of this bizarre world. Keeping his eyes focused on the retreating form before him, he kept following, biting his lip gently as he panicked he'd lose him and get lost in this strange place.

"Hey, rabbit. Wait for me!" The blonde yelled, but his shouts fell on dead ears, "Oi! You're not deaf, you've got blooming massive ears! So listen to me, god damn rabbit!"

As if to prove his point, the silver-haired male looked over his shoulder at him but merely smiled - at least, it looked like he did, it was hard to tell with the mask - and continued on his way with a purpose.

"Hey!" Cupping his hands round his mouth, Naruto called out again, but once more the dumb rabbit ignored him. Grumbling, he sped up, trying to catch up with the other, but he darted round a tree and vanished, leaving the blonde stuck at the exit of the forest with a scowl upon his face and a pout upon his lips.

Ghosting his fingers over the fabric of his trousers, he eyes watered as the aching of loneliness entered his chest at a breakneck speed. He was tired of being alone, tired of being lead to unfamiliar places only to get lost and left behind. Reaching up, he frantically wiped away the blossoming beads of water as they escaped from him and rolled down his cheeks.

Plunking himself down on the floor, the small male brought his knees up to his chest as he let out a strangled gasp for air. So, this was Wonderland? A place for taunting animals and crying. Some place. Clicking his teeth in annoyance, he managed a shaky breath and buried his face into the silken fabric that covered his knees.

How did he get here again? He'd been following a rabbit, the rabbit _rabbit _version of the silver-haired human version he'd been following just seconds ago. Then he'd... What had happened? He'd somehow ended up here.

The blonde frowned softly, scratching the back of his head in puzzlement as he tried to think of what else had happened after he'd began to follow the rabbit. All he remembered was falling... Darkness consuming him as the wind began to hit his body, attempting to slow him as he fell.

_What happened to me?_

Naruto questioned himself, letting out a heavy sigh as he realised he was no closer than before to finding out the very answer to that single question and it was starting to drive him insane. Hadn't that cat said he had to hold on to just that, his sanity? How ironic.

Rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand, the boy lifted his head only to squeak in surprise as he came face to face with the Cheshire Cat, his eyes seeming to taunt him for sitting down and crying. Narrowing his blue orbs, he started into the black irises of the other as the cat merely smirked and held out his hand to pull the smaller to his feet.

"Why question yourself? You won't find answers that way." Shikamaru stated rather bluntly, watching as the blonde took his outstretched hand and let himself get pulled to his feet. Surprisingly, the cat found that Alice was lighter than he seemed. A coy smirk then settled into place, "You're being narrow minded, open up your ears, not just your eyes."

Frowning, Naruto opened his mouth to protest but instead came a feeble, "How do you open your ears?"

"Take away the sight," The other whispered, then the cat was gone before two hands were covering his vision, leaving him seeing nothing but darkness, "Only when you take away one sense, will another reach its full potential."

After his sight was taken, the small blonde was thrown into a moment of blind panic before having to use his ears to listen to his surroundings for danger. The two hands still covered his eyes and he reached up to pull them away when he paused, the faint sound of music reaching his ears.

"Cheshire, what's that music?" He asked, as loud as his voice dared, his tanned petite hands returned to hang limply at his sides.

A approving purr sounded from behind him, rumbling in his ear, "Good. Good. That music is the sound of a... Party, if you can call it that. It just seems like a drag to me."

"Of course, god forbid you to approve of anything." Naruto muttered, seeming to get the grasp that everything was 'a drag' for the cat, "So, great and highly Shikamaru, if it isn't that much of a drag-"

"You would like me to direct you in the overall direction of the 'party'?" Shikamaru's tone as he said that was defined, so defined that the younger could hear the quotations around the word party as he spoke it, "After all, a party means people."

"Yes." The blonde nodded as the hands were taken from his eyes and the blonde blinked as his pupils adjusted to the sudden light that hit his face, "Anyone has to more helpful than you, or that bloody rabbit." But the cruel smirk that so read onto the Cheshire Cat's face as he said that made him freeze as he realised that they probably weren't - if he was to judge by that expression.

"Fine. Just head along," The cat explained, before walking along the grass until he reached a bush, "That way." He finished, pointing through the bushes before fading once again. Groaning slightly, Naruto moved along to the twin bushes, scowling as he pushed them apart only to be scratched by the brambles that were hidden within.

Cursing, he withdrew his marred hands, wincing as the red welts had blood dribbling down his skin and dripping from his fingers. He looked at them, glaring as he, once again, pried the bushes apart - only this time he was cautious of where he placed his hands - before slipping through the narrow parting he'd created. Luckily, the suit he wore only snagged on a bramble here and there before he was greeted with the open path that would lead to the music. There was not a bush in sight.

Both hands stung as the small boy continued on his way, the injuries he'd sustained acting as a mild annoyance as he walked along. As he walked, Naruto swore he heard noises, voices whispering and discussing him. The small voices were hissing, seeming to try and hide the fact they were talking about him. Joining the voices was the faint sound of music as he got closer to his destination.

"_There he is,_" One voice hissed, "_Alice in all his glory._"

"_Look! Look! Look at his hands... He's bleeding._" Another chirped in which made the blonde self-consciously shove his injured hands in to his pocket, grimacing as he did. The blood would stain his pockets, but that was a mere consequence that he would have to deal with.

"_Shut up, idiot! Alice can hear us!_" The first voice spoke again, hissing harshly at the other voice.

"_You're being louder than me! He hears you more than he hears me!_" The second voice shot back.

The the two lapsed into bickering as Naruto hung his head and hurried along, leaving the two scrabbling voices behind. A soft sigh slipped past his lips, before he closed his eyes to concentrate on blocking out the stinging that was emerging from his shredded hands, each cut hurting with its own intense pain. Personally, it was bugging him like a handful of bees all stinging his hands at once.

Hissing slightly through his teeth, the blonde realised the music was loud enough that he didn't have to concentrate to hear it faintly anymore. It was upbeat music, but the tunes were all over the place, sounding much like there was backing track and someone trying to play, or playing, the piano - badly along.

Lifting his head, he saw he'd come to the end of his travels and darted behind a tree as he looked in on the strangely confusing 'party'. Taking in the sights before him, he gasped at what he saw.


	2. Chapter 2: Please, stay for tea

**A/N: Chapter 2 is done and here. :D This story is written for Sins of Blood, so I hope you like it, bish. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in anyway, nor the characters.**

**Please enjoy. **

**- Our Bleeding Shadow**

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**Chapter 2: Please, stay for tea**

**Words: **2,932

_Lifting his head, he saw he'd come to the end of his travels and darted behind a tree as he looked in on the strangely confusing 'party'. Taking in the sights before him, he gasped at what he saw. _

Right in front of his eyes, Naruto could see some sort of deranged tea party was going on. Smashed plates lay on the ground, two figures casually dancing over the shards of china so the crunch of the china breaking more could be heard in amongst the so-called-music. Both of the figures looked strangely alike, they must of been related in someway but that was starting to really hurt the blue-eyed male's head thinking about it.

Now they moved into a clearer view, he could see one was a girl and one was a boy with a femininity complex of some kind - it was easy to mistake his gender if he had his back to you. The both of them had long dark hair and milky white eyes, plus a similar facial structure but that was all. Their hair styles were quite different and so was their style - not to mention the girl had a fuller chest, whereas the boy's was flat.

Poking out of the girl's hair was two white rounded ears, a little dormouse, and a tail that flickered across the floor. By her timid movements that flowed a little less graceful that the other's next to her, Naruto could tell she was a shy person. But the the other person dancing next to her had two floppy brown ears, a bit bigger than a rabbit's - a hare! Their clothing was formal, but seemed strange to him.

The hare wore a neat suit, wearing a slightly tattered waist coat before finishing off with scuffed black shoes. Whereas the mouse wore a neat black dress with a waistcoat over the top, little gold chains hanging from it and black dolly shoes to accompany her black leggings. The blue eyes widened as he watched them hook arms and spin.

A moving platform in the background then caught the blonde's eye, making him look behind them as he noticed a piano that was slowly turning. On top the piano was a top hat, it had cards and a single watch attached. But as the platform turned, he realised that hat was on top of another person's head. This one appeared completely human, his raven hair styled in what Naruto could only explain as 'a duck butt' under the hat and his suit the pinnacle of perfection.

The off putting fact was that he was sat on the turning piano, smacking the keys so a horrendous tune rumbled from within - it was deafening. His manical laughter was mixing in with the tune, causing the small boy to cover his eyes as he grumbled at how bad it was before he felt two hands on his mid-back, shoving him out into the open.

Naruto squeaked in shock as he tumbled from behind the tree, his knees hitting the floor as he fell in plain sight. His bloodied hands hit the floor and he cried out in a moment of pain. As his cry dwidled down, a hiss escaped past his lips as he lifted his hands from the ground, ignoring the fact there was blood smeared where they had been. The small boy cradled his hands, trying to ignore the pain as his shredded hands stung and throbbed.

"Oh my!" A small squeak sounded out, the voice belonging to that of the mouse. Lifting his head, cerulean irises met white as he jumped at how close the hare had gotten, he was grateful for the mouse keeping her distance. She hung back, her face flushing a lightly pink as she stared at him in a slight daze.

"Hinata, look." The other boy muttered, his long ears lifting as another voice grumbled from behind the boy, "Alice decided to pay us a visit." Before laughing lightly as Naruto tried to back away, only to fall into someone else stood behind him. As he tried to turn his head, two long, thin arms wrapped round his waist, lifting him before holding him close to a muscular chest that could be felt beneath the clothing the other wore.

"Shush, Alice." A soft, deep voice sounded from behind him. Turning, the azure eyes fell on the white rabbit, which was startling for him and he couldn't stop the small squeak that escaped from his throat, "Aren't you adorable." The rabbit then cooed.

"Put him down, Kakashi." Another voice cut in, it was smooth but sharp. As the smaller and the silver-haired male looked forward, they both saw the boy in the hat stepping in-between the hare and the mouse, Hinata.

Slowly, Naruto felt himself get put down, Kakashi grumbled about the boy, "Such a spoil sport, Hatter."

"Don't talk to the Hatter like that!" The hare snapped, going to walk forward but a pale hand stopped him in his place.

The Hatter smirked faintly, "Neji, relax." He told him calmly, before folding his arms across his chest and looking at the rabbit with a small look of amusement on his face. His onyx orbs not looking at Kakashi but at the blonde thar was stood a little in front of him, "Kakashi's just sour because we stopped him trying to seduce little Alice."

Upon hearing his 'name' Naruto's head snapped up, looking at raven-haired male timidly before taking several steps away from the White Rabbit, "Seduce?" He choked out, startled by this insight that was given to him by the other.

"Yes." Hinata spoke up, her voice rather quiet, holding gentleness, "Kakashi tends to try to flirt with the Alices and some of the people who actually live here as well, an example is Sasuke." Then raised her hand, pointing at the Hatter with a light hue of pink still gracing her cheeks.

Nodding slowly, the blue-eyed male glanced at Sasuke then back at Hinata. He couldn't place her blush, but he was thinking that maybe the mouse fancied the Hatter a bit. Watching the two, he then shot a look over to the hare who was also studying the mouse carefully with a bemused look crossing his face.

He then took a few steps forward, seeming to check the new Alice over before walking behind him and placing a hand on his side. Naruto yelped, jumping away at the contact and Neji merely blinked lightly at it, rolling his eyes slightly.

"You're rather thin, a bit more fat than muscle but still rather strong." He commented calmly, then looked over at Hatter who had a small smirk upon his lips.

"You can all that by just touching the side of my waist!?"

"Yes." Was the rather blunt reply as he returned to the raven-haired male's side. Up close, the small blue-eyed boy could see that Hinata's hair had a bluish tint and the hare's was just a dark brunette colour. But those onyx orbs were what drew his eyes after examining that. They seemed to be taunting, judging him.

Sasuke took several steps forward, coming face to face with Wonderland's little Alice, a taunting smirk stretching on his lips as he leaned in close to his face. Those azure eyes widened as he felt the warm air of the male before him brush across his cheeks causing them to flush as he spluttered in an attempt to resist. Only the male didn't pull his face away from how exceedingly close it was to Naruto's, the smirk becoming an amused smile before he had the rabbit hugging him instead of the blonde.

"Aw, leave him be, Sasuke." Kakashi whined, the mask pulling taunt over his mouth as he smiled cunningly, "Alice is scared and just wants to go home." The boy in his arms merely grunted and elbowed him in the ribs. Wincing, the white-haired rabbit released the younger, rubbing his torso grumpily as he then pulled out his watch before squawking a very slurred 'I'm late' and speeding away.

The Hatter sighed a little, seeming more in relief than in annoyance as he turned to the small, trembling blonde before him who was pale and overwhelmed. Seeming to study him, he quirked a brow in a questioning manner, frowning closer to the smaller male which was way to close to the boy for the smaller's comfort.

"W-What now?" He stammered, his azure eyes widening considerably when the other's pale hand grabbed his chin, turning his head either side as he seemed to examine the structure before clicking his tongue in a thoughtful way.

"So, Alice, what's your real name?" Sasuke seemed to genuinely interested, a crafty smirk upon his lips then paused with the interested looks of both the mouse and the hare. They drew closer while waiting for the blue-eyed male's response, their eyes glinting with curiosity, "Hm?" The make in front of him chimed in, catching Alice's attention once more.

"N-Naruto." Naruto managed to spit out, his eyes still watching the raven-haired male before him with an expectant gaze. Slightly scared that his life was on the line, he made an attempt to back up only to trip over his own feet and squeak as he began to tumble toward the ground.

Two strong arms caught him and pulled him back up, his eyes slowly focused onto the Hatter's face as he tsk'd in annoyance and rolled his eyes softly. Once the arms had released him, the blonde then dusted down his suit a little nervously as he swallowed down his rising anxiety.

"You're a clumsy fool, aren't you?" The taller asked, seeming smug about it.

"Y-Yeah, but so what!?" Naruto spluttered, his rage climbing at the statement.

"You'll never find your way home."

"I-I will! Watch me!"

"Hn, I'd love to see the day, dobe."

"You're such a, ugh! Teme!"

The blonde's body was once more quivering with rage, glaring at the Hatter as he cracked his knuckles which only caused the onyx-eyed male to quirk his brow once again and chuckle lightly as he simply knocked the boy's hands down. Shaking his head lightly, his eyes flickered up to his face before his lips pulled back into small smirk.

Holding his hands up, Sasuke shook his head softly, "Relax. I'm offering to help." He told the other with a slight tone of amusement which caught Naruto off guard. Choking on his rage, he slowly calmed, looking at the other in a moment of questioning.

Now he was within the domain, he could examine the area much better than he could while hiding amongst the bushes and trees. There was a long table just behind the area where the shattered china now lay, a cosmic blue table cloth dropped over it and a tea set was neatly set out on the table. There was food lined up on it, but it had either been squat, destroyed or thrown around the area. What _madness_!

Drawing his eyes back to the Hatter, his eyes spotted a rather large house and came to the conclusion that they all lived there. Swallowing, the smallest male glanced at each of them in turn, "Help? You mean that?" Then nibbled on that lower pink lip which the raven male found rather, what was the word, adorable?

But those dark eyes were then drawn to the bloodied hands and he quirked a brow in confusion, taking hold of one gently and lifting it into his line of sight, "Hinata, go fetch a first aid kit." He instructed with a calm tone, he could practically see the blonde relax and unwind as he spoke since the tension was warded off. How cute.

The timid female nodded, taking off running toward the house. She was rather quick, reaching the door rather quickly. For her height she was rather nimble, which was not surprising. While she was inside, Sasuke had produced a soft, white cloth from his pocket and was dabbing at the wounds lightly. It stung, of course, making the blonde wince as he then bit down on his tongue to silence himself from crying out.

"W-What happened?" A soft, gentle voice interrupted their thoughts. Turning, they saw that the cosmic blue-haired girl had returned with the red box that had 'First Aid Tin-Box-Case' scrawled on it in permanent marker.

He hung his head, the blonde spikes catching the sunlight and shimmering as he let out a small sigh. Raising his azure eyes, he looked straight at them, "I scratched them up in some brambles that were concealed in the bushes." He explained, his voice nothing but a small, raspy whisper.

A look of understanding flashed in her milky-white eyes and he wet his lips nervously. As that little red tongue darted out, timidly licking his lips, the young blonde didn't realise the pair of black-coal eyes were trained on his face - the Hatter's brain working like clockwork as he examined the boy. The teen was of the same age as himself with a neon sign above his head that flashed directly over his head screaming trouble.

While the jet-black haired boy seemed to have zoned out, Hinata took over. She gently took the tanned hand from the other, gently. The skin of the female mouse was soft and her actions gentle. That made Naruto smile weakly as she lifted up a damp cloth that was on top the box, thoroughly starting to clean the cuts on Alice's skin.

"Thank you." He mumbled as she worked, getting her eyes flickering his face as a reward, her faint blush growing slightly. That didn't go unnoticed by either of the taller males, one slightly amused and one - what was this feeling - jealous? He scoffed at himself in disbelief, he couldn't be getting jealous over this cute blonde, he'd only just met him. Not to mention the fact that the other was a total airhead, plus stubborn.

"I-It's fine." She stammered, gently putting the cloth on her knee and opening the tin before removing a gauze and bandage, gently starting to dress the first hand. Once finished, the mouse picked up the cloth and began to clean the other one.

After she'd done, they were both bandaged and stinging slightly but nothing that was going to make him bawl like a child. The blood stains on his pockets drew his eyes to them, his fingers trailing a long it as he nibbled on his lip.

"Now," Sasuke's voice cut through his absentminded thoughts, making Naruto's head snap up as he blinked at him, a look of apprehension crossing his face before the other continued, "You are welcome to stay here while we try and help you home."

Shock rocketed through his bones, causing the azure-eyed boy's knees to feel weak as if he was going to fall, "You m-mean that?"

"Yes. It's only polite, just excuse the mayhem and chaos that is madness." The taller male nodded, glancing at Neji who was smiling faintly, thin lipped and looking over at Hinata who was shocked as well as the blonde.

"Thank you, Hatter."

The Hatter waved a hand, brushing off the thanks, "It's nothing. After all you've shown to us you can't look after yourself without getting injured." He wasn't sure why he'd added the insult, but there was something that made him defensive about 'liking' him.

"Hey! It's that stupid cat's fault! Do not blame it entirely on me!" The blue eyes flashed as he tried to parry the insults and scowled like a small child.

"Of course."

The bandaged hands curled into fists, of somewhat, as he began to quiver in anger at the smirk the other had as he said those words, "Shut up! I woke only an hour, maybe two, ago! My head hurt and I had no idea where I was! I'm scared and I just want to go home, teme!"

As the snaller screamed at him, the words he just said made them all halt and Sasuke walked over to him. Twin orbs of the deepest blue swivelled to lock eyes with him as he stopped, they were sad - lonely - and most definitely there was an underlying emotion of fear concealed within. That only made him pull the blonde into his chest, rubbing his back gently as the other tensed in surprise.

It only took a few moments, the small frame slumping as Naruto relaxed. A soft sigh slipped out of his lips, making a shiver run up the Hatter's spine, the noise having a strange effect on him. The form in his arms was a freezing mess, the coldness unbelievably there as it clung to the blonde with a strong, unwavering grip.

"Let's go indoors." Sasuke mumbled, signalling Neji and Hinata to head back. The two of them nodded softly, walking over to the Hatter's house. The hare looked over his shoulder, checking if the other two which were following, which they were. The raven-haired male partially carrying the other that was in his arms, the tanned male looked a little pale in the face, his eyes trained on the floor as he clung to the taller male in support.

Hinata disappeared into the house first, giggling slightly as she did, her voice ringing out like a small bell. Rolling his eyes, Neji followed in after, his hands buried into his pockets as he grunted under his breath at her laughter. But before Alice and the Hatter got through the door trumpets rang out and horses could be heard galloping closer.


	3. Chapter 3: The Red Queen's Crush

**A/N: I managed to work on this chapter faster than the others. Not sure why... But, here it is! All finished and done. **

**Hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, in any way, or its characters. **

******- Our Bleeding Shadow**

* * *

**Chapter 3: The Red Queen's Crush**

**Words:** 2,696

_But before Alice and the Hatter got through the door trumpets rang out and horses could be heard galloping closer. _

Naruto had never seen someone grow as pale as quickly as Sasuke did right at that moment as he released his arms around him and his already white complexion grew paler. Turning, he looked at a small parting in the trees just as a dark black horse galloped into view, the glossy coat shimmering and a single red heart shone on his left side.

"Ah, Knave." Sasuke spoke, addressing the rider. Raising his eyes, the blonde took in the sight before him. A pale, wiry thing of a man was sat before them. His skin naturally white as the Hatter's, but his hair was simply cut short. A simple cut for a simple male, as it would seem. Like the Hatter, he had twin coal-black orbs but his didn't have a gleam to it. They stayed rather unemotional; the thin lipped smile was fake it was obvious even to Naruto and he looked at the male next to him for some sort of help.

"Hatter." The Knave greeted bluntly, swinging his leg over and dismounting from the horse in a orderly fashion. The red and black clothing he wore showed he was a knight, a knave, to someone. Under a black over top made of felt that reached his knees was mesh clothing. He could see the sides of it through the sides of the over top, which was more of a poncho with the sides showing, as the Knave only had a black felt belly top on under that and black felt trousers.

"What brings the Red Queen's most trusted here?" The taller forced a smile onto his own lips, but it looked out of place to the observer next to him. The azure-eyed male was keeping quiet, biting his tongue instead of demanding what was going on. His attention was grasped as the Knave turned, the over top had red hearts in two of the conspiring corners, directly opposite one another, but not beside.

It only took him moments to find the male was answering the Hatter, "The Red Queen asks you to come back with me and join her for tea." That made Sasuke visibly gag, he just heaved, turning away from the Knave to disguise it but the other seemed to know what he was doing since he just rolled his eyes and tsk'd in recognition of this 'act'.

Curiosity getting the better of him, he walked round the horse, peering at the parting and seeing a bunch of guards there. Each of them seeming reluctant to actually enter the area. A hand on his wrist startled him as it clasped on, pulling him back and he soon realised it was the taller male who was returning him to his side.

"You see, Sai. As much as I'd _love_ to join her for tea, I have to care for Alice." The statement made the blonde freeze, feeling Sai start to size him up, judging him like he was in a pig pen and the farmer was ready to decide which one would grace the dinner table as bacon or pork.

"I see." Was the simple words that fell from the other's lips, "Why don't we do a swap? You have the Queen for an hour or two while you have tea and, if you don't trust those crazy pets of yours, I can care for Alice during that time." Onyx regarded onyx as the two pale male's eyes locked as they seemed to study the idea and the hand on Naruto's wrist tightened protectively.

"Oh. But, you see, I cannot do that. This Alice is a little jumpy and temperamental, I just spent some time to get him to trust me." Sasuke told him, his voice having some hostile tones within. It was apparent he was trying to worm his way out of this, his mind working at breakneck speed to think of a reasonable excuse.

"It won't take me long to get him to trust me." The Knave replied, his eyes glinting dangerously as the Hatter kept making up an excuses. Her patience would be thinner than a piece of paper when he got back and if he came back without the Hatter there is the strong chance that the paper-thin-patience would give him a nasty 'paper cut' to his pride.

Naruto jutted out his chin, doing his own observation on the Knave in front of him before glancing at Sasuke in questioning. He was really unsure to say, he had an idea that 'I really don't mind' would just get him into the bad books of the other. Not wanting to do that, he shifted on the spot, pulling at his shirt uncomfortably.

"I doubt that." The raven-haired male smirked, adjusting his hat as he glanced at the blue-eyed blonde, "Your presence is making him uncomfortable." He then took hold of the other's hand after releasing the wrist, giving it a small squeeze as if in encouragement. Surprisingly, a faint blush then filtered onto Alice's face, though he was very unsure why.

"Hatter! Just have tea with her, I'm not asking you to propose!" Sai snapped, loosing his cool outer shell for a few moments as he lost his patience with the other ashen teen.

Sasuke gritted his teeth, narrowing his eyes slowly as he considered what the other said and scoffed, folding his arms across his chest in defiance. It was obvious that he seriously did not want to have tea with this Queen, but that just made the blonde wonder what was so horrible about her that made him dislike her so much.

"With _her _you might as well be." The mutter was out before the Hatter even met Sai's eyes once more, his face set in determination to squirm out of this as quickly as possible, he then tugged Naruto through the doorway as he walked backwards through it, "So, sorry. I decline to have tea, Sai."

"Sasuke, you can't keep declining. Soon she'll switch to orders and you know what happens to people who disobey them..." The Knave drew a line across his throat with his right forefinger, looking at the other with a serious look on his face.

"I'll loose my head?" The Hatter smirked, then chuckled which sent shivers up Alice's spine, "Too late, already lost it." Then grinned darkly and slowly began to shut the door. Sai's hand shot out, stopping it before it closed completely, his face remaining emotionless.

"You need to stop making things into a joke." He told the Hatter, his voice sharp and blunt. Then his eyes flickered to Naruto, staring at him. It was like two black voids were watching him, unnerving him and he swallowed nervously, averting his own gaze to the ground as to avoid it.

The dark-haired Hatter merely laughed, his eyes glittering like two black gems before he slowly shook his head sinisterly, "Never."

Sai withdrew his hand, sighing as he headed back to his horse, climbing onto its back before galloping off and yelling for the guards to head back to the palace. The blonde saw them all turn and Sai reach the parted trees before the door closed with a soft _click. _He then glanced over at Sasuke, watching him as he let go of his hand and then began to lead him toward another room in the house.

"Who was that?" He asked, looking at him in questioning as the Hatter opened up another door to reveal a distorted room that was his living room and nudged the other in.

"That was the Knave of Hearts." He explained, reaching up and removing his hat as he sat down on a wonky sofa, tapping the space next to him as an invitation for the smaller to sit. Heading over, the other slowly sank into the sofa, rubbing his eyes softly as he processed what he'd been told, "Before you ask, he works for the Red Queen."

"I guessed, her name cropped up quite a bit." The soft murmur of Naruto's reply slipped out of him, his cerulean eyes flickering up to the taller's face. An amused smirk was on those pale peach lips, making the azure-eyed male uncomfortable as he shifted in his seat.

"Yes, true. The reason I declined was because she's annoying." He told the blonde, looking at him, "She has a crush on me and is constantly sending Sai here to request I join her. I'm getting quite sick of seeing him. Never liked him to start with." He clicked his tongue, then looked at the ceiling before glancing at the door.

"I guessed." The petite make responded, rubbing his arms as he then made the connections that there was more to this. Much more.

"Sasuke-kun." Hinata's soft voice interrupted them and the small blonde's head snapped up to look at the dormouse that stood in the doorway, a sheepish look on her face, "N-Naruto-kun's room is ready." After delivering the news, she darted off, shier than ever.

That made Sasuke rise, holding out his hand to Naruto as he replaced his hat upon his head. Reaching out a tanned, petite hand, he put his hand into the slightly bigger pale one and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet.

"Shall we?" The Hatter asked, his voice smooth like silk and his eyes showing a small gleam within and the small blonde only just managed a timid nod before he was being taken out the room and toward the stairs where Neji was waiting for them since the mouse didn't stick around to guide the way.

The hare coughed, turning and heading up the stairs when the two reached him. They ascended after, meeting each other's gazes before letting their silence overhang, shifting their holds in each other's hands. Hatter had no idea why he felt the need to hold the small, soft hand of Alice but his stomach felt all a flutter but his outside emotion was kept fairly blank.

Beside him, the blonde's facial expression had adapted one of nervousness, his eyes darted to and fro as if he was trying to make a split decision but was unable to draw up a end scenario for both choices. Neji grunted as if to notify their wandering minds that they had arrived to the door of room where they expected the small male to stay until they found him his path home.

The tallest male then pushed the door open, his floppy ears lifting before flopping back down, "Here you go." He stated, stepping aside to allow Naruto enter, which he did with cautious steps.

"Thank you." He mumbled, slightly amazed as he looked around at the indigo room with little painted stairs shining brightly around the walls. The singular bed was pushed up against the fair wall, its covers a dark plum colour to fit in with the colour scene of the room. Dragging his feet, he walked over to it, brushing his hand along the soft covers as he walked along side it. He looked at the lamp that sat upon the bedside table that was the same deep purple as the walls.

"I hope it's to your liking." Sasuke spoke up, drawing the blue orbs away from examining the room and to the raven-haired male that obscured the doorway, hands folding in front of him as he regarded the tanned blonde with a unwavering stare.

"I-It is. Thank you." Alice repeated, feeling rather awkward under the other's patronising gaze. It was making him grow increasingly uncomfortable as the seconds rolled by and the blue-eyed teen cleared his throat to catch the others attention.

"Ah! Sorry, I'll, uh, leave you, um, to settle in." Sasuke said, shifting awkwardly before exiting the doorway and leaving Naruto on his own once more. Rubbing his arms, azure eyes swivelled round the room, his teeth scraping over his bottom lip as he shifted awkwardly on the spot. This was where he was staying, for now.

* * *

Sai was making his way back through the forest, the guards behind him as he sighed heavily to himself. That damn Hatter had refused again, making up some fickle excuse to worm himself out of one stupid date with _her_. Not that he could blame him entirely, if he were Sasuke and the Queen was lusting after him, well, he would of made a b-line for the forbidden parts of Wonderland or he'd try to find an exit of some sort.

His horse, Sasayuki, whined beneath him, as if sensing the thoughts of her master and her red eyes seemed to swivel and focus on him briefly. Petting her mane, he shushed her gently, stroking it as he whispered softly to her, "It's fine, dear. I'll live through it."

The Red Queen wasn't all bad, she could be rather sweet when she wanted to be but her temper was darkness itself - it seemed to hit like a hurricane and rip up everything around it when she unleashed it. He still sported bruises from the last one she threw, his body aching just at the thought of the punches, tables and chairs she lobbed at him. It was lucky he was able to avoid most of them but eight five percent of the things thrown made contact.

She may be the Queen but if you put the Hatter in danger and placed her against _thousands_ of guards on a battlefield there was no fact against it, she'd be the one to walk out alive. At times she could be impossible to work with, refusing bluntly not to listen to a voice of reason and just take matter's into her own hands.

"Knave, we're nearing the palace." A guard spoke up, his voice rough and cold. That snapped Sai out of his thoughtful bubble, making him look over his shoulder at the guards and offer a small nod.

"Thank you. I think it would be best if I, alone, went to break the news to the Queen." He stated and rise of murmurs in agreement rang out from the crowd behind him. She had woven a web of fear into all of them, making them want to avoid her in case of a time when she was angry.

The horses stopped outside the Red Queen's castle, letting the guards dismount and return to their duties before dismounting himself. He adjusted his uniform, pulling at it in faint annoyance before heading toward the big, crimson doors that lead inside - into the castle then to _her_. It took most of his self control to keep his hands from trembling, he wasn't supposed to have emotions! Let alone feel this nervous! He'd never felt them before.

Swinging open, the doors showed the dark ruby halls within, guards stood each side, their gazes not directly at him, but he could feel their glances as he entered. Alone. Once again had the god damn Hatter let him down, leaving him to fall victim to the Queen's rage. It was no secret that the other disliked him, it was as plain as the Red Queen had mood swings.

"Where is she?" Sai asked simply, glancing at a guard who straightened as he was addressed and swallowed calmly.

"Dining room, waiting for tea." He replied briskly to the Knave, he seemed to know the dark-haired male liked answers fast and very blunt. This guard had gained his approval; he forced a smile, nodding before heading off in that direction.

"Thank you." The Knave bluntly replied over his shoulder as he turned the corner and headed along the hall to the dining room with an empty look in his eyes, his jaw set in determination. Servants passed him, then shot him a sympathetic look when they realised the one thing that she'd sent him out for was not accompanying him down the hall.

Pausing outside the door, Sai placed his hand against the cold, smooth surface of the door before taking a deep breath and pushing it open.


	4. Chapter 4: Alice meets the Red Queen

**A/N: I'm on a roll! I'm finished with Chapter 4 and onto 5! I'm just gonna party. This is actually my first Naruto FanFic, so all your reviews are so motivating. But I swear half of you are psychic and predict it. X3**

**Hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or its characters in any way. **

**- Our Bleeding Shadow**

* * *

**Chapter 4: Alice meets the Red Queen**

**Words: **2,792

_Pausing outside the door, Sai placed his hand against the cold, smooth surface of the door before taking a deep breath and pushing it open. _

"Your Majesty." He spoke up, notifying her of his presence. The pinkette, that was sat across the room at the end of a long table, raised her head with an irked expression on her face as she lifted the cup that sat on the table in front of her to her lips, taking a sip of the jasmine tea within.

"Well? Where is he?" The Red Queen questioned, looking behind him with jade eyes before her expression hardened and she slammed the cup down in anger, "Sai! Where is the Hatter?" Her tone of voice made the pale male shrink in her presence as he was unsure what he was supposed to do now. He could lie, but where were that get him?

"He, uh, refused to come once again." He explained to the angered Queen, "I'm sorry, but he said he needed to care for the new Alice that's shown up." His eyes then took in the frustrated look that then flashed in her eyes. Clenching her fists, she let her rage bubble for a few moments before trying to gain control of it as she stood and regarded the Knave with a no-nonsense look.

Placing her hands in front of her on the table, she leaned forward slightly and narrowed her eyes, "A new Alice?" She asked, her voice thin.

"Yes, Queen Sakura. A boy with tanned skin, whiskered cheeks, blonde hair and blue eyes." Sai responded quickly, starting to weave a fast lie up in his mind as he felt her temper climb to one that could tear the whole room apart.

"He sounds... Interesting. But how _dare _he!" She commented, screeching on the last sentence as she picked up her cup and sent it flying toward the raven-haired male. Blinking in alarm, he quickly ducked so the small cup went flying over his head and shattered against the wall. Sakura brushed her shoulder length pink hair over her shoulder, growling to herself, "Sasuke is mine! He's meant to take care of _me_, not some ignorant Alice!"

"I know, my Queen." He replied calmly, making his way over to her slowly as she raises her green eyes to stare at him. This was her way of staring him down, making sure he came up with a solution to solve this - quickly, too! As he reached her, the Knave paused as he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, "Why don't we go, us two, and watch the Hatter's place for awhile? We can get some dirt on this Alice."

A sick, amused smile slipped onto her painted lips, showing off her evilness as she nodded, "Yes. Yes. We shall. This is why you're my Knave, Sai. You never fail me for an idea." But a swift punch to his jaw showed she still had not forgiven him for not bringing the Hatter with him when arriving back.

"Yes, your Majesty." The ashen male responded quietly, ignoring the sharp sting that now tingled in his jaw causing him to roll his jaw around until he felt a click as it slipped back into place. _Ouch_.

"Come now, Sai. We must ready my clothes, horse and I to spend time outdoors, spying." The pinkette then snapped, waving her hand around as she looked at her loyal servant who merely nodded softly and took her outstretched hand the way a gentleman should. Silently, the both of them then headed to the door and left the room.

* * *

Waking with a start, heavy breathing filled the room as the small, trembling form on the bed pulled the covers further up his legs after kicking them off during the night in his nightmare. Naruto's eyes flickered around as his petite hands pulled the covers up to his chin and he swallowed down the rising fear. It had just been a dream, a stupid, _stupid _dream.

It had been three days since finding himself in Wonderland, he was still getting used to the weird antics of mad trio he now lived with. Now he was having nightmares on top of that! He was driving himself mad trying to make sense of it all, it was crazy! Sheer _insanity_ brought on by being bluntly exposed to this world.

Shaking his head, the blonde let out a shaky breath, "Calm down, Naruto. It's just a stupid dream." He whispered to himself, pulling the covers tighter around him as he lay back down, his head resting on the soft pillow. Three g_od damn _days and Sasuke hadn't even bothered with trying to get Naruto home, he'd been too busy with his tea parties and bonding times with everyone in the household.

"Having nightmares?" A cool voice interrupted his thoughts, causing his head to snap up as the cerulean eyes frantically searched for the person they belonged to only to fall on the colourless face of the Hatter whose head was poking round the door and staring at him cautiously.

Timidly, the small male nodded, his hand reaching out and switching the lamp on that was perched on the side table before letting his eyes lock with Sasuke's as he entered the room and shut the door behind him. Early morning rays slipped through the partings of the curtains, but they weren't light enough to light the whole room.

"I heard you crying out in your sleep." The older male explained, a small smile curling onto his lips as he stopped at the bottom of the bed and looked at the swirling pools of blue that were the other's eyes, "I came to see if you were alright."

Apprehension slipped onto the younger's face as he paused, thinking over it but saw genuine concern on the pale face of the Hatter, "I'm fine." He mumbled finally, looking at his lap as he sat up slowly, it hurt his neck to lie down and make eye contact. A small grin then slipped onto the other's face as his pearly white teeth gleamed in the lamp light.

"That's good." He stated, making his way round to the side of the bed before sitting beside the blonde in a soothing silence. The only thing that made noise was the ticking of the clock and their gentle breathing, then Sasuke spoke, breaking the silence, "I'm here to listen if you have any worries, okay?"

"Yes..." The doubtful reply came, making the Hatter look at Alice with a sad look in his eyes. Reaching out, his slender hand took hold of the small, bandaged hand that was in Naruto's lap in his own and gave it a gentle squeeze as not to cause anymore pain to the injuries. His onyx orbs never moved from the smaller's face as he brought the hand to his lips and gently placed a kiss on top the bandages.

"I'm here to help you, Naruto." His soft, silken voice explained, it made a pink tint appear on the whiskered cheeks as he averted his eyes. A small smirk then curled onto the Hatter's lips as he moved a little closer to his guest, "Don't be afraid to talk to me about anything." After stating that he rose to his feet, but not before planting a gentle kiss on Alice's forehead to provoke an action out of him before turning on his heel and walked toward the door, a coy smirk upon his face.

_What did he just do to me? WHAT?! What was that about? _Naruto's mind raced as he tried to calm the feeling of his stomach doing flips in his stomach, his face flushed a pure red at the thought of what had just happened. Sasuke had planted a _kiss_ on his, _his_, forehead! What was that meant to mean?

He let himself flop back down on the bed once more, a small breath trembling from his lips as he placed his hand over his eyes and outwardly groaned in confusion. Switching off his thoughts, the blonde sighed at the aching pain in his head as he turned on his side and pulled the covers up farther on his shoulder, "What was that about?" His voice was a mere whisper, as if questioning the air more than reason itself.

As the morning rolled in completely, the young teen lay awake, his mind unable to stop pondering on what the raven-haired male had done just hours before. The cerulean orbs were fixed on the ceiling, seeming in a daze as they relieved the moment from when the ashen teen had come into check on him until the moment he'd left the tingling sensation on the other's forehead and left over and over again.

It seemed his mind was too content on taunting him that he didn't realise his door was being pushed open by a very timid figure that entered moments after, clearing her throat nervously to get his attention. The attempt fell on deaf ears, the mind of Alice elsewhere as Hinata then moved over to the curtains, opening them so the light spilled in and splashed over the tanned male's skin, giving it a golden glow.

"N-Naruto-kun?" She stammered, looking at him in slight worry as he didn't move an inch, still staring at the ceiling as if he'd died during sleep, "N-Naruto-kun, are you okay?"

Hearing her, Naruto snapped out of his trance, turning his head to look at her as he sat up finally as a wide, dopey smile spread on to his face, "Hi, Hinata-chan!" He responded, then healthily nodded in response to her question as he threw back the covers and climbed out of the bed. The navy pyjamas that Sasuke had leant him were a bit too big, but they fitted nonetheless.

"A-Are your hands b-better?" The mouse then enquired, her voice nothing more than a soft, papery whisper. Her eyes fell down onto his bandaged hands, they were healing nicely, she'd cleaned them and bandaged them up again yesterday, but it was nice to ask about his well being.

"Yes! They're feeling much better, thanks!"

A warm blush spread onto her cheeks, her milky-white eyes looking to the ground as she tapped her fingers against each other, "G-Good, I'm glad."

Folding his bandage lacquered hands in front of him, then looked at her with a curious look, "Is something up?" He asked, his voice warm and gentle which set Hinata's heart pounding as she sheepishly nodded.

"B-Buh-Breakfast is ready!" She squeaked, turning and fleeing from the room only to leave a puzzled Alice stood behind in confusion. Trailing his eyes to his borrowed pyjamas, he made the split decision to eat then change so hurried toward the door and, while holding up the bottom half and legged it along to the stairs and down them.

Once at the bottom, Naruto started along the hall, seeing Hinata disappear into a room that was definitely the kitchen and he felt his mouth water at the sheer thought of Sasuke's cooking. It was no lie if he said he adored the older's cooking, it was mouth watering and left him wanting more.

Entering through the doorway, the blue-eyed boy took in the pastel yellow kitchen once again before his hands were taken into someone else's and pulled to the table where a chair was kindly pulled out. Swivelling his eyes to his right, he saw none other than said cook stood there with a small smirk on his lips as he winked at the boy, causing his face to flush as the other then moved over to the cooker and began to dish up their breakfast.

The blonde's eyes locked onto the honey brown table, his hands in his lap as he waited patiently for his food as he tried his best not to drool, but he was hungry and it was too difficult which just made him hang his head to hopefully hide it. Neji and Hinata were also seated at the table, either side of the blonde as they conversed happily. The other hair next to them was unoccupied and pulled out for when the Hatter needed to seat.

Glancing over his shoulder, Sasuke peered at the smaller and a small smirk flickered onto his lips as he examined the boy more carefully. Noting that it was possible to drool and be cute at the same time as the other was somehow pulling it off amazingly and over the last three days he was growing more attracted to him. When those whiskered cheeks were flushed red because of an action had did was the most adorable face that he'd seen in his lifetime.

Once all four plates had their breakfast on, he carried two over to the table at a time, first starting with Alice and Hinata before going back for his and Neji's, placing them on the table in front of each individual. Naruto's eyes widened as if he could devour the food with his oceanic blue orbs on the spot, his tongue slipping out to lick his pink lips before he quickly adjusted his hands in his lap.

Taking up his seat, the raven merely smiled at the sight and nodded, "Enjoy." He stated and he watched the boy fall on the food like a dog to a bone, one would think they were starving him. The way the young blonde looked so happily content as he shovelled the bacon into his mouth was rather heart warming, at least he knew the other loved his cooking.

Sasuke was much slower as he went about eating his food, cutting up the pieces of bacon before placing them bit by bit into his mouth after chewing and swallowing each piece, of course. But their peace was interrupted by a knock at the door and the hare departed to see who it was and the mouse trailed after which left Sasuke to stay there while eating and watching the cute teen finish off his meal as he ate the last of his traditional breakfast, using the napkins to wipe off his mouth.

"That was yummy, Sasuke!" He complimented, shooting him a big grin that warmed the very icicle that had been the other's heart. Why had he started to care for someone now? And why _him_? His affection wasn't based on looks alone, after an hour or two of Alice being in their presence they all learned he had a rather infectious personality. One that latched onto you and seemed to make you instantly like it.

"I'm glad you like it, dobe." The Hatter responded, making his voice sound bored as he finished his and heard sniffling as the other two came back, but they were accompanied by someone he'd rather avoid until the day he die. The Red Queen. Sai was with her too, taking in every ounce of detail he could.

Their voices trailed off into nothing, both males turning to look at the two intruders in silence. The raven was more timid on the matter as he blinked at the Queen as she adjusted her red dress and stared then down with an emerald-green eyed gaze that made him feel very uncomfortable. Shifting slightly, he reached up with his right hand to adjust his hat before returning the pale limb to where it rested on the table.

"Hello, Sai. Queen Sakura." He greeted them, seeming a bit off with the intrusion at breakfast. At the mention of her name from his lips, the pinkette swooned, giggling to herself before reminding herself what she was doing there, in fact, what she had gone to the door to do and glanced at Alice in curiosity.

"Hello, Hatter." Sai responded blankly, looking at his Queen to see her reaction, but the teen girl was sizing up the blonde at the table, her eyes taking his tanned skin, unruly, blonde spiked hair, the beautiful, big blue eyes and the three whiskered lines on each cheek. He wasn't bad to look at, but that made him a threat.

"Hello, Sasuke-kun." She spoke up finally, her eyes turning onto the pale piece of perfection at the other end of the table as she fluttered her lashes trying to seem cute. Walking over to him, her manicured hand was placed on his shoulder as she pushed his chair back a bit, sitting on the other's lap. Alice snorted in amusement, earning a glare from the Hatter as he grunted at the female on his lap.

"Sakura, get off." The onyx-eyed teen told her bluntly, keeping his eyes locked on the form of Naruto across the table, which only made Sakura pout, childishly. When she did that it looked horrible, it just made him smirk darkly in amusement as he thought that if his little Alice did it then it would be the cutest thing ever. Wait! _His_ Alice?! When did he gain ownership of the blonde?

"But, Sasuke-kun, I want to spend time with you." She whined, leaning closer to his face so the tip of her nose was just ghosting in front of his, a small smile on her face as she tried to seduce him in plain view of everyone.

"I told Sai, I can't. I have Alice to take care of." Sasuke then told her, glancing at Naruto who shifted in his seat as he kept those azure eyes focused on the table as the Red Queen scoffed, pulling her head back as she rolled her jade eyes lightly.

"I know, which is why we're taking him back to the palace with us." She stated plainly, a small smirk then spreading onto her face as she dropped the massive bombshell.


	5. Chapter 5: Whisked away

**A/N: Done with this chapter, this is the fastest I'm spitting them out. ; ^ ; But I doubt people read this. XD But thank you all, I have replied to all (most?) the reviews I got. I'm also grateful for the follows and favourites. Have a cookie. *Holds out virtual cookie***

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, in any way, or its characters. **

**Enjoy~ I like pizza. **

**- Our Bleeding Shadow**

* * *

**Chapter 5: Whisked away**

**Words: **3,073

_"I know, which is why we're taking him back to the palace with us." She stated plainly, a small smirk then spreading onto her face as she dropped the massive bombshell. _

What happened after didn't take too long to unfold, Sasuke looked shocked, pushing Sakura off his lap and sending the slender female crashing to the ground. As she hit the ground, she let out a pained yelp as he then stood and walked over to Alice and placed a hand on his shoulder as he glowered at her darkly.

"Naruto isn't going anywhere." He snarled at her, his onyx eyes narrowing as he then forced the other male to stand before sitting and pulling the other into his lap, "You can forget it."

"B-But, Sasuke-kun, it's for the best!" Sakura argued preforming that hideous pout once again, "It really is!" She needed to get Alice to the palace as to give the Hatter an excuse to visit. It was the only idea she'd come up with over the span of these three days, she was getting desperate.

"No, it's not. A-Alice is, uh, incapable of travel." Hinata spoke up causing Sai to turn and glare at her. The timid mouse then shrunk behind the tall frame of the hare, afraid of the Knave entirely.

"Yes!" The Hatter exclaimed, looking at the other three and then back at the Queen, "That he is, incapable of travel! He's injured!" Then a pale hand was shoving Naruto's face into his chest which made the other turn beet red as he stayed completely still. The other arm was wrapped around his waist, holding him in place as he remained, awkwardly, in the taller's lap.

The Knave turned, looking at the Hatter, "We have medical people around." He responded, smirking as he gained the one up in the argument. It didn't take long for he actually realised the jealous look on his Queen's face as she stared at Sasuke and the blonde in anger before she grabbed ahold of the small, tanned male and yanked him away from the other.

"Sai, go take Alice to get dressed. He's coming with us or he'll lose his head." She snarled, her jade eyes locked on the coal-black ones of the visually perfect male in front of her who looked enraged now as he narrowed his eyes at her, but he didn't interfere afraid that he may get Alice killed.

It was his turn to feel jealousy spike through him as Sai put his arm round the small blonde and took him out the room, he could see Neji resist the urge to stop him as he asked the boy to lead him up to the room which he was staying in.

Sakura smirked at him then, realising she'd come out the victor after all and turned on her heel to wait for the other two to return. Neji was glaring at her, so was his cousin as they were enraged at her threatening the blonde's life - he grew on people and it was hard to dislike him. He had a bubbly personality and was just a joy to be around.

Neji snarled at her as she walked over to the door, only to jump back and squeak when he made a move toward her. Hinata pulled him back, not knowing what the hare did. The Hatter was smitten for Alice, he was trying to protect the bond they had. That abomination of a Queen was being selfish and she didn't care who she hurt to get what she wanted, even an innocent soul who had nothing, physically, to do with the situation at hand.

The hare glanced at the raven in the top hat, who shook his head to prevent his friend from doing something stupid which only caused the pink-haired female in the room to smirk at him as she passed. Following quickly, Sasuke paused in the doorway as he saw Sai leading a fully dressed blonde down the stairs, a fearful look upon his face. It tore the Hatter's heart as he realised he couldn't do anything to stop them leaving.

"Come now, Alice." She stated, her voice smothered with fake sweetness as the smile she then shot did not reach her jade eyes as she let the Knave lead the small male from the house and take him from prying eyes as she then turned, looking directly at the Hatter, "See you when drop by the castle."

"W-What do you mean?!" He asked, incredulously, spluttering with his words. Onyx eyes narrowing, his mouth set into a grim line as he awaited her reply. Turning, she checked if the other two were out of ear shot before blowing him a kiss.

"You will come, to check on Alice. I can see you're all close, Hatter." She sneered, "But you're the only one allowed to visit." She added on with malice in her voice as she turned on her heel and walked out the house as the sounds of her talking with Sai drifted back to the house. Shoulders quaking with rage, Sasuke quickly cast his eyes downwards as he cursed under his breath.

"She's horrible!" Hinata exclaimed, clenching her fists before slamming one into the wall, "She just took Naruto from us!" Then punched the wall again, breaking through it this time and Neji stopped her from pounding her fist into it another time.

"We know." He said gently, sympathy was in his eyes as he watched the enraged - usually calm - girl, settle and sigh softly as she looked up at their friend to see his reaction. But his eyes were glassed over as he listened to the sounds of the horses retreating, taking his blonde to the palace.

"Hatter?" The mouse's concern fell on dead ears as his hands balled up into fists and his eyes narrowed dramatically.

"She better not hurt him. I'll kill her." His sentence made his two mad companions freeze as they looked at him in shock before he muttered under his breath, "Down with the bloody big head." Milky eyes still stayed fixed onto the dark-haired male, taking in the look of maliciousness on his face before swivelling to meet each other. Oh dear.

* * *

The journey to the palace was done in silence, Naruto shifting awkwardly where he sat in front of Sai on his horse, his bandaged hands clinging to the mane lightly as not to hurt the creature beneath him. His blue suit had been in the wardrobe, washed and dried and hung there for him to put on. Unfortunately, he had a gut feeling he wasn't really welcome at the palace and his nerves were all in a bundle.

Feeling a gaze on him, he turned slightly, seeing Sakura glaring at him from her own horse with guards around her and swallowed anxiously. His eyes falling to the ground as he tried to avoid anymore awkward moments of unwanted eye contact. Sai's breath ghosted over his neck as he leaned closer.

"I can see why the Hatter is fond of you," He whispered into the blonde's ear, making him shiver in fear as the other's lips brushed over his earlobe, "You're definitely not an eyesore." Then he pulled back letting the quivering mess in front of him let out a shaky breath in relief.

Raising his head, the cerulean eyes saw the faint sign of red through the trees and bit down on his lower lip as he realised they were nearing the end of the travel and drawing closer to their destination. Stomach doing flips, the small teen managed to pull his hands from the safety of the mane to his stomach where he hugged himself to try and stop his trembling.

The trip had taken shorter than Alice had suspected, his mind racing as they passed through the last of the trees and came to the Red Palace, its walls standing high and the whole building a marvel to behold - that didn't stop it being a place of evil, though.

As the horses halted, more guards came out to join them as the Red Queen dismounted from her horse and watched her Knave do the same before he helped the blonde off and placed him in front of the Queen. She raised her hand and moments later Naruto's eyes were wide and his cheek was red and stinging.

"Incompetent Alice!" Sakura screamed, her hand making contact with his cheek again and his head snapped to the left as he staggered, wincing. Wide, fearful azure eyes trained onto her, making her fume more as she glowered at him with a darkening look, "Throw him in the dungeon." She snapped at the guards.

"W-What?" The young teen spluttered, looking at her in puzzlement, "W-What did I do?" But rough hands grabbed his arms, yanking him toward the doors as emerald eyes locked onto him with a bitter look upon her face.

"Sasuke will be mine!" She screeched at him, as if Alice was insane but he didn't get to ask what that had to do with him as the guards had dragged him through the doors and were pulling him roughly down the hallway. Tripping, he staggered in between them, stumbling every time they yanked on his arms to speed him up.

They were being too rough, his cheek stung and he was growing increasingly afraid, fearing for his own life. Not to mention the Hatter's happiness, he didn't seem to like the Queen at all, let alone in _that _way. He was being dragged down the hall, not even getting a chance to notice anything about his surroundings apart from the fact that the walls were painted a deep crimson and the carpet was a slightly lighter shade of red. Only being able to pick up the colour of the carpet from how many times he'd nearly face planted the floor only to be yanked forward to quickly find his footing again.

The teen's arms were starting to hurt from being yanked around, the shoulders threatening to come out of his sockets before they finally came to a staircase that would lead them down into the dungeons. In seeing it, he almost let out a sigh of relief. Almost. It wasn't that he was glad to get there, he was grateful that the abuse to his limbs would soon stop.

Pulling Alice to the stairs, they proceeded to drag him down them and glared at him when he lost his footing on several occasions - because of them! They grunted at how he'd really enraged Sakura and mumbled insults between each other but the smaller still had no idea what he's done to get his name put on her hit list. He was just trying to get home.

Relief was flooding through him as they reached flat ground and he was pulled along to a cell and thrown in before they shut the door and locked it. After doing so, they both left, leaving him there to sit in the dust as he rubbed his shoulders to try and ease the ache in them from being strained too much.

"_Look, it's Alice again._" A voice - one of the voices from his first day - hissed out. The small blonde tensed, looking around to see who it was, but his eyes were peering into the murky shadows which made it difficult to pick anything out.

"Stop whispering." Another voice snapped, much louder and coming from his left. Turning in that direction, his heart leapt in his throat at the sight of two pairs of eyes watching him from _under_ one of the beds and he timidly shuffled away. The two lots of eyes seemed to take notice of him having seen them and one clambered out from beneath, "He's safe."

Shuffling happened and a smaller version of the first climbed out from beneath, their eyes both staring at him as he shifted slightly on the spot. Both of them had silky black, pudding bowl haircuts and they both wore identical green dungarees and skin tight black shirts. Their dungarees were the longer legged ones, like trousers. Only the smaller had bigger eyes than his taller companion and they both shared identical big, bushy eyebrows.

"Alice?" The smaller one then asked, looking at him in questioning and the blonde slowly nodded in response which made them both look at each other then back at him, sizing him up, "Hi! I'm Rock Lee, otherwise known as Tweedle Dee." Then the big-eyed one held out his hand for the other to shake which he did slowly, before his azure eyes fell onto the other dark haired male.

"And I'm Might Guy, or Tweedle Dum." The other introduced himself, his voice showed he was older, as did the maturity in his face. The other had smaller eyes than that of his friend and he in turn took Naruto's hand and shook it pleasantly.

"N-Nice to meet you both." He mumbled in reply to the sort-of-identical males, his mind completely confused as he knew he'd heard those voices when he'd first arrived and now the two were in here, what happened? His face seemed to portray his confusion as they both reach out, pinching either cheek and grinned at him.

"You wondering," Guy started, smiling at Alice knowingly.

Lee then joined in, "How we got here." His rather large eyes were fixed on the slender frame of the small blonde.

Letting go of his cheeks, the smallest male reached up with his bandaged hands and rubbed them, grumbling softly to himself as the two males then looked at each other and Guy flicked Lee in the forehead.

"Why we're here is all this idiot's fault." The older went onto explain, making Lee exclaim in protest but the other just clamped his hand over the boy's mouth and continued to talk, "He thought it was wise to flirt with the Queen."

Blue eyes widened as Naruto looked from Guy to Lee and then a soft frown flittered upon his features, "Why would you want to? She's evil." He questioned, folding his arms over his chest as he remained where he was had shuffled to. Lee grumbled to himself, his voice muffled by his identical - of sorts - older.

"I know! But he couldn't keep silent so we ended up here." The older male grumbled, removing his hand and letting Tweedle Dee speak finally, his eyes focused on them and a grumpy look upon his face, "What did you do?"

"Nothing!" Naruto exclaimed, looking at them with wide eyes, "I was at the Hatter's when she just barged in and demanded I go with her... She has a crush on him, but I don't see what that has got to do with me!"

Both Tweedles had a look of bewilderment upon their faces, they're coal-black eyes studying him carefully as they then looked at each other and exchanged a conversation on whispers before they glanced back at him. Wrapping his arms round himself, he rubbed his arms to fight of the bitter chill within the dungeon.

The azure-eyed male sighed heavily, rubbing his arms a bit more as he looked up at them and shivered as the cold blast of air that then blew through the air. Even the two males, he was in the cell with, shook as the cold nipped at them through their clothes, seeming to embrace all three of them and hold them in a deathly grip.

"It got cold like this yesterday..." Lee started, glancing around as if searching for the source of the unforgiving wind.

"Lasted an hour." Tweedle Dum cut in, grumbling to himself about irresponsible others that can't bite their tongue when in presence of the Queen which only got him and elbow in the ribs from Dee.

"Say that again." The big-eyed male narrowed his eyes at the other as he clenched his fists.

The older smirked, "I will." He shot back, they both seemed rather menacing so Naruto shuffled back instantly so he wasn't caught in the crossfire.

"Go on then!"

"Fine! It's all your fault we're down here, freezing, if you'd shut your mouth we'd be home!"

The blonde's eyes flickered from one to the other before they launched at each other, starting to scrap upon the floor of the dungeon. It was quite comical, watching them roll around on the floor of the dungeon as they fought and he was unable to stop the amused smile that appeared on his face. The sudden smile brought a sharp sting to the cheek that had met the Red Queen's wrath and he reached up, tenderly touching it.

A frown then appeared on his face when he felt something wet beneath his fingertips, what was it? He pulled his hand down, moving into the box of light that streamed from the barred window and lifted his fingers into the light.

Blood stained the tips, making his eyes widen as he realised that the slaps he recieved had opened a cut on his cheek and he groaned inwardly at the thought. His eyes avoided falling on the two forms that rolled around on the floor as he wiped the blood from his fingers and rubbed his eyes softly.

_Just my luck, I get kidnapped, slapped and thrown in a dungeon. I really want to go home now. _Naruto pulled his knees up to his chest, hugging them as he sighed softly and buried his face into them before choking as tears brimmed in his eyes. The noise from the squabbling Tweedle's quietened then and they both scampered over to him. He felt them sit either side before he was sandwiched into a comforting hug.

Lifting his head, he looked at the two dark haired twins through watery eyes and felt one wipe the appearing tears away. The blonde sniffed, looking at them both as they smiled at him, the smile kind and reassuring as they then gently ruffled his hair, causing him to giggle lightly.

"Don't worry, Alice." They said in sync, their voices lacing together as they continued to brush away the water that welled in his eyes, "You're a good person, everything will work out." The comment did little to soothe him, but it boosted his mood slightly.

"Okay..." He mumbled in response, more cheerfully but doubtful. Would it really work out?


	6. Chapter 6: Hatter's secret

**A/N: I finished Chapter 6. :) I had fun writing this chapter, I got to inflict pain! XD But I hope it's good enough! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, in any way, or its characters. **

**Hope you enjoy~**

**- Our Bleeding Shadow**

* * *

**Chapter 6: Hatter's secret**

**Words: **2,971

_"Okay..." He mumbled in response, more cheerfully but doubtful. Would it really work out?_

They sat like that, clinging to each other until the freezing air had vanished before peeling apart and looking around the cell in silence. The two Tweedles were up and moving around as they tried to regain the feeling in their sleeping legs, it made Naruto laugh just watching them waddle round as they whined about their legs always giving up on them if they stayed sat down for too long and it didn't help that they were cooped up in a cell without the sunshine to warm them.

Standing himself, the smaller then proceeded to stretch his legs from within the single box of sunlight that hit the ground from the barred windows, practically ignoring the lines of shadows that broke off the light in places as the bars blocked the sunlight from getting past. He stretched his arms as well, looking toward the barred window with a faint look of sadness flooding his eyes.

"Ah, don't worry." A very familiar voice echoed out, not one belonging to either twin - they weren't the same age, but they were identical - causing the blonde to whip round where he came face to face with two very familiar onyx eyes. Shikamaru sat upon on of the beds, smirking at them slightly as he then shot a glance at the twins.

"Cheshire!" Guy grinned, going over and slapping him on the back playfully, Lee doing the same. The cat just shot them a thin lipped smile before turning his attention back to the younger male in the room with an apprehensive gaze.

"Alice, I imagine you're puzzled." He then stated, climbing to his feet and walking over to the other, stopping just in front. Looking down at him, his eyes searched the cerulean orbs of the other before he sighed, "The Red Queen threw you in here because she's jealous."

The insight made the other blink as he tried to come to terms with it, "Jealous." The question was out before he could even stop it.

"This is such a drag." Shikamaru grumbled to himself, before nodding and then proceeding to explain more, "She's been trying for a very long time to get the Hatter to love her. But she's not been able to get close to him." He placed his hands in his pockets, yawning then.

"I can see why! She's positively a conniving, horrible person!" Naruto fumed, folding his arms, glaring at the floor.

"Imagine her anger, though. She's been trying for years, no luck and you, Alice, waltz in from nowhere. Three days later, you're closer to him than she's ever gotten."

"Oh." The small blonde fell silent as the two others in the room, nudged each other whispering 'I told you so's.

The Cheshire then rolls his shoulders slightly as he sits back down, looking at the boy in silence as he waits for the information to sink in. After awhile, the blonde spikes raise as he lifts his head and looks directly at the cat's eyes, his tongue nervously slipping out and wetting his lower lip which made the other smirk.

"Realised?" He asked, then rolled his eyes as Alice's face slipped into a small frown and waved his hand dismissively, "Don't hurt yourself thinking over it, idiot. See you around." Then airily vanished, leaving the three males in the room with looks of confusion on their faces.

"That was... Eventful." Naruto mumbled, looking at the other two as he quirked his brow in questioning.

* * *

The cool breeze hit his face with each gentle gust as two onyx orbs stared up at the palace with intense dislike flickering within like two untamed flames. Sasuke had tried putting off coming here, but after two days without Alice, he'd gave into the desire to see him once more. So here he was, a day later, with the courage to face the dark heart of the Queen just to see the one he truly wanted.

He'd come to the conclusion that he'd fallen for Alice after an hour of the blonde being abducted, it felt like the Red Queen had tore out his heart and carried it off as she took him. Clenching his fists, he looked at the doors then closed his eyes as he let out a shaky breath, his rage needed to be calmed before he went to see her. Otherwise he was going to do something stupid.

"I'm here, Naruto." He whispered to himself, walking up to the doors and pushed them open, walking in like he was requested to be there which startled a few of the guards. As the raven walked past their eyes were on him, gawping as they were surprised he'd showed. Ignoring them, he continued on his way, showing himself to the throne room.

"Sasuke?" A bewildered voice asked, making the pale teen look out of the corner of his eye. It was Sai, staring at him in bemusement as he blinked in a mixture of shock and surprise, but he didn't get a reply.

Raising his right hand, the Hatter quickly adjusted his hat as he came to the throne room doors and opened them. He glanced up to see Sakura perched on her throne, a look of thought upon her face as she daydreamed about something - she hadn't noticed him, yet. Coughing, he grabbed her attention as he walked in and up the the throne.

Once he was at a close, but safe, distance away he stopped, smiling falsely at her which made her blush as she realised he was in front of her, that he'd actually came to the palace. Slowly, her mouth dropped open as her blush intensified making him grunt and roll his eyes lightly. _Don't flatter yourself, idiot. _

"S-Sasuke-kun, you came!" She stammered, shifting on her throne before smiling brightly at him. It had no desired affect, it just wasn't as heart stopping as the blonde's he'd fallen for. Groaning inwardly, Sasuke watched as she shot to her feet, brushing down her red dress before giggling and curtseying to greet him.

"Yes, to see Alice." He responded grumpily, folding his arms as her smile faded and a look of hurt found its place upon her face. He didn't care about that, looking around for the perky blonde but saw not an inch of him, "I thought you'd keep him close by. Maybe to make sure he wouldn't run away."

The pinkette's anger bristled at the comment, her fists clenching as she narrowed her eyes slightly, "I threw him in the dungeon. Alice can't escape." There was a very clear look of pleasure in her eyes which in turn made the Hatter's rage climb as he, in turn, glared at her.

"What? You locked him in the _dungeon_?!" The raven screeched at her, his anger astounding her completely. Glowering, the Red Queen folded her arms as he met her eyes in an equally enraged gaze.

"You get to see him _if _you spend the day with me." The request was out of her mouth before the Hatter could even but up the barrier, it was more of a demand than a request anyway, "Otherwise you can leave now and _not _see him." Her voice was steady, having an under layer of dominance as she used her power to make the matter bolder than it would be normally.

That made the pale teen pause, his mind thinking it over and reluctantly he nodded, "Fine. I will." The deal was only made because he was desperate to see the blonde and hold him once again in his own arms, to tell him he loved him and hopefully get a small kiss on the cheek in return. Even if it didn't happen, he could still dream.

Obsidian met emerald as their eyes locked and a smile split Sakura's face as she launched herself at him, enveloping him in a bone crushing hug that made him grunt in annoyance. He really was regretting making the deal, but frankly he had no issue with doing it for the one he loved - which was not the Red Queen.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you, Sasuke-kun!" The over zealous female gushed, her cheeks now tinted pink as she gazed up at him with adoration in her eyes. Sasuke would happily pay over his entire house to have Naruto in her place looking at him like that and swallowed down the thought as the pinkette got the wrong idea and thought the faint hue of red on his cheeks was her doing.

"Uh, sure, get off!" He snapped impatiently. In hearing it, she released him immediately, straightening out her clothes and adjusting the crow on her head before looking at him with a dopey - unattractive - smile on her face as she intertwined their fingers and began to tug him along toward the dining room, where they were most likely going to have tea.

"This is going to be magical!" Her chirpy voice floated back to him, making him grunt as he glared down at the floor in aggravation. Why did the most _annoying _and _unappealing _female in Wonderland have to lust after him?

"I disagree," Hatter interjected under his breath, which luckily went unnoticed by the bubbly female who was buzzing on a high from the current situation, "I'm going to have to give myself amnesia after this."

"I finally got Sasuke to go on a date with me!" Sakura continued squealing to herself, pushing the doors to the dining room open and waltzing in before taking Sasuke up to her chair and forcing him into the one beside it.

Glaring at the table in front of him, his fists clenched in his lap as he realised he really was going to have to spend the whole day with her just to see Naruto, after all.

A cup was placing in front of him, a delicate hand placed on his shoulder - one he repulsed - and he raised his head to glare feebly at the pinkette who was now stood, grinning at him from where she stood beside the chair. Giving his shoulder a small squeeze, she then went and sunk into her chair, lifting the cup that was in front of her to her painted lips and taking a sip.

"Mm, I love tea." She empathised, looking at him with her round, green orbs as she fluttered her eyelashes in what she thought to be flirtatious act, but it did nothing to change the deep hatred he had for her, "Drink up, dear Hatter." Then she watched him, her eyes feeling like they were burning holes into his flesh.

Rolling his jet eyes, he examined the decorated china in front of him. Its base was a simple, porcelain white with a scarlet rim at the top, gentle, delicately painted, red roses up the left side of the curved shape. Time and effort had gone into making the cup, that much was clear to the Hatter, it had enough beauty to be an antique - but he knew better.

"Sai made some new cups." He commented, lifted said object to his own pale lips and drinking the steaming liquid inside. The only reason he'd brought it up was to avoid any questions about romance, marriage and his personal life.

Sakura quirked a brow, looking down at her own cup then back at him, "You noti- Hey! How did you know they were new?" She looked at him accusingly, her eyes narrowed slightly.

"Hn, idiot. They're in one piece and have not been glued or made to cover cracks. You have a tendency to break things when enraged."

"Oh." The pinkette was startled into silence, shifting awkwardly in her seat as she nibbled on her lower lip, flicking her hair over her shoulder as she watched him swallow down the rest of his tea before he placed the cup down.

"Stop staring at me." His cool, blunt voice cut through the air, his eyes turning and glaring at her as she quickly averted her eyes from him and fiddled with the hem of her dress. She couldn't help it! He was just so goddamn _attractive_! Every inch of him screamed perfection and she wanted it for herself.

Shakily lifting her cup, she drank the rest, her hand trembling slightly as she tried to think up what to say, what to ask. It was a miracle she hadn't had a breakdown yet, "S-Sasuke-kun, can you join me in the gardens? We need to talk."

"About." His snarky reply came, his question hanging there as he glared at her, wanting her to not mention any word about a-

"Our relationship..." Sakura's voice wavered as she noticed his jaw clench but nevertheless he rose to his feet and allowed her to walk and lead him in the direction of the kitchen where they would leave through the back door to enter the gardens. In his mind the day was dragging on, he'd been here for little under half and hour and he already wanted to tear out his eyes and swallow a vat of poison just to get rid of the memory of this day.

"What relationship?" He asked, knarked that she even thought they had one. His coal-black eyes flickering as he looked at her darkly, narrowing his eyes more as they seemed to flicker with a burning desire to strangle her.

Not turning to look at him, she pushed open the doors to the kitchens, humming softly to herself as she walked through the kitchen, ignoring the servants within there as she skipped softly. The happiness that radiated from her made the Hatter's stomach churn and his pale hand went to his stomach as he tried to swallow down the rising agitation from spending time with _her_.

Reaching back, the Red Queen took hold of his wrist, pulling him through the open back door and into the fresh, open air. The sun had still not graced the sky with its presence, hiding behind the clustered clouds. Birds tweeted from the trees and guards prowled around on the outside grounds, some discussing the damn weather and the shocking events of the day.

The slender female in front of him stretched, letting out a relived sigh as she breathed in the outside air, taking in the sweet smelling surroundings before turning and looking straight at him. A smile spread onto her face, her green eyes sparkling as she offered out her hand to him and beckoned him to take it.

"Care to walk with me?" She asked sweetly, her voice soundly sickly to his ears as he merely grunted in agreement but didn't take her hand in his.

"Sure. Sure. Let's go." He sighed heavily when she didn't seem to get it, but she just blankly stared at him, waiting for him to take her hand. The male teen still didn't extend his hand to take hers, leaving them hanging by his sides.

Sakura coughed, "Take my hand then, Sasuke-kun." She smiled, fluttering her lashes again and his jaw stiffened, reaching out his hand to reluctantly take the one extended to him. One his hand touched the female's skin and she clasped onto it, clutching it tightly as she kissed the back of his hand. Her lips touching his skin made it crawl in repulsion but he kept a blank expression.

"Are we going to walk?"

His interruption startled her, making the jade-green eyes widen as she snapped her head up to meet his eyes as she flushed beet red and nodded softly, shakily pulling him off for a leisurely - for her - walk. Pulling him up so the Hatter was beside him, Sakura clinging to his arm while holding his hand in her own and talking about nonsense before trailing off and looking at him.

"Sasuke-kun, when will you ask me to date you?" It was a seemingly harmless question, but Sasuke knew it was a prompt to force him to ask her.

"What?" His voice - as he made sure - was dripping with displeasure at the idea, his eyes watching her as he quirked his eyebrow questioningly.

"When will you ask me to date you? At least then we can work on proposal plans and a marriage!"

The pinkette's face had taken an expression of awe at the thought, her eyes literally glittering, it made him gag at the sight, "Never." Came his blunt, hostile reply which made her splutter as her dream was shattered and look at him with a wounded look on her face.

"S-Sasuke-kun, why not?" She sniffled, wiping her tears with her right forefinger.

"I have my reasons."

"Like what?"

"I don't see how that's any concern of yours."

"Tell me! Why won't you?!" She screamed, grabbing his collar and pulling him closer as she grew increasingly more urgent for him to answer, which only made the raven roll his eyes as he pushed her back from him and straighten out his collar before adjusting his hat.

"My heart belongs to someone else." His tongue betrayed him, forming the words he needed to keep secret for Alice's safety. Sakura's fists clenched and her eyes glared at him as she gave into her rising rage.

"Who. Is. It?" She asked excruciatingly slow, her words were spat out as she started to lose control, before switching back to her calm self and smiling falsely, "I'll have them removed so we can be together, Sasuke-kun."

His fist collided with her jaw before he even stopped to think and his eyes turned into dark slits as he narrowed his eyes more than they had been already, "Lay a finger on Alice and you'll pay! I love him, not you. Get that through your incredibly thick forehead!"


	7. Chapter 7: The back up plan

**A/N: I told myself I'd get this chapter finished by today, so here, I did. :) I feel proud of myself and will eat candy to praise myself for doing a good job. I hope people still like this. I'm not the best FanFiction author, after all. **

**Hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, in any way, or its characters.**

**- Our Bleeding Shadow**

* * *

**C****hapter 7: The back up plan**

**Words: 3,138**

_His fist collided with her jaw before he even stopped to think and his eyes turned into dark slits as he narrowed his eyes more than they had been already, "Lay a finger on Alice and you'll pay! I love him, not you. Get that through your incredibly thick forehead!"_

Sakura had been too shocked to react, her eyes wide and pained as a delicate hand rested on her jaw as she choked on her tears, but before Sasuke could throw another punch rough arms grabbed him, tearing him back as he growled darkly at her, his eyes blazing as he saw Sai approach. His face was emotionless as he gently steered the pinkette away from the struggling Hatter who was trying to get free.

"Throw him in the dungeon until the Queen speaks otherwise." The pale Knave instructed the guards that restrained the wiggling mass from killing their Queen, dragging him back toward the palace in stunned shock. It had been impossible to see that coming, but, in any way, Sakura had deserved it.

"You can't meddle with people's lives! Bossing people around, you make enemies!" Sasuke yelled madly over his shoulder before a guard jarred his arm, hissing at him to shut up.

"That's enough from you." They went on to snap, taking him into the palace and through the way the two had exited through before, the route through the kitchen and dining room, before starting down the hall to the stairs that would lead down to the dungeon.

The raven had fallen silent now, his mouth sealed shut as he smiled crookedly to himself and tried not to break out in manical laughter as he was roughly made to speed up to reach the stairs. Coal-black orbs fell on the stairs as he was forced to walk down them, luckily he was the one in front so he wasn't being dragged down them - more like pushed.

As they got there, he noted how cold it was as they unlocked the only cell they had and threw him inside before re-locking the door and leaving, murmuring about a broken heater on the last floor before vanishing up the stairs. Staying silent, his eyes flickered around, examining the place from where he was stood.

It seemed a very boring place to be, any sane person would go mad within there. Luckily, for Wonderland, no one was sane. Thoughts stopping, the Hatter listened carefully as he heard shuffling from the shadows, turning and looking there just before he was tackled by a bundle of yellow and blue. His heart lurched as they crashed to the floor. _Alice_.

Naruto clung to him, face buried into his side as he hugged the taller male, making the pale teen beneath him tense as he carefully sat up and tapped the other on the shoulder. The blonde bundle lifted his head slowly, baby-blue eyes looking at him innocently as he blinked in questioning for what he wanted.

"Naruto, are you okay?" Was the question that fell from his lips, his pale hands lifting the tanned teen's chin more as Sasuke examined him, noticing a healing cut on his cheek. Lifting his other hand, he ran his fingers over it, feeling the mark beneath his fingers before frowning softly to himself.

"I'm fine." The other replied, a bright smile spreading onto his face and the Hatter's heart just stopped. The kid had spend three days in a dungeon and he could still smile like an idiot, it was breathtakingly beautiful. Retracting from the raven, the azure-eyed male allowed the Hatter to sit up more before hugging him again.

"Good." Said male muttered, hugging the smaller back tightly as he looked up to see the Tweedle's huddled on the bed in the darkness, trying to provided warmth for themselves and glanced at the male in his arms. Rubbing the back of the boy, the pale male quickly scooped up his hat from where it had fallen off before putting it back on his head.

"Sasuke, how did you get thrown in here?" Naruto asked, his voice innocent and questioning as he looked at him with a wide, sceptical gaze that enhanced the countless number of blues swirling in his depths.

"I punched the Queen." Sasuke managed, sheepishly, causing the other's eyes to widen more as he came to terms with it. Laughter echoed out, emitting from the huddled forms on the bed as they listened in on their conversation.

Choking on his words, the small blonde looked at the older with a stunned look, "W-Why?!" He asked, alarmed as the ashen teen shrugged with a simple shift of his shoulders, smirking at him.

"She threatened to rid of the one I love so she could force me into marriage with her." The Hatter told him, answering his question while he gently moved his fingers to a whiskered cheek, "And I won't let anything happen to that person."

"If you love them so much, then they must be great!" The blonde grinned, completely missing the point which made the teen in front of him sigh softly and lock gazes with him.

"Dobe, it's you." Sasuke bluntly told him, which made the said male fall silent, his cheeks flushing red as he finally understood what he'd just told him and shyly looked at the ground as if it would start juggling. Catching his chin once more, the other lifted the tanned chin so their eyes were locked again before bringing his lips closer to the pink ones in front of him. The ones that had taunted him in his dreams.

Naruto's face burned red as their lips grew closer until they were only inches apart. Even the Tweedles held their breath, watching the two grow closer together. The jet-haired male tilted the other's head, to gain better access to his lips before pulling him forward. His own heart hammering in his chest, he could hear the blonde's thudding against his rib cage.

Fireworks went off in the raven's mind as their lips locked, his arms trailing round the slender waist of Alice as he pulled him closer and angled his own head to make the moment flow smoother. Moving his lips against the plump, pink ones beneath his, he coaxed the tanned male into moving with him.

A bandaged hand reached out, grabbing onto the front of his shirt, clinging to it while their shared moment continued. The smaller was getting rather flustered, his eyes shut and his cute face burning red. Rock Lee nudged Guy's arm, winking slightly as he then grinned and went back to watching them.

"Well, what do we have here?" A voice sounded out, causing the two teens to break apart and look toward the barred door with shocked looks on their faces. Sai stood there, an amused smirk on his face, his pale hands holding onto two of the bars as he peered in at them. His eyes flickered from Sasuke to the blushing blonde which made his smirk grow.

Growling, the raven's arm went round Alice's waist, pulling the petite male closer to him as the Knave seemed to be looking over the delectable, flushed face of said teen, "What do you want, Sai?" He spat out angrily which only made the other smirk more as he let go of the bars and shot a triumphant look in the blue-eyed boy's direction.

"Sakura has declared an execution for Alice tomorrow at dawn." The wiry male spoke, waving his hand. His coal orbs watched as the Hatter released the younger, flinging himself at the bars angrily.

"You won't do this, Sai! That jealous cling-on can't do this!" Said male was snarling at him as he heard the small sniffle of the blonde behind him, knowing that the other had curled in on himself to disguise his tears. Obsidian irises locked onto Sai's face, the hatred within flickering like two unkempt flames.

"Sorry, Sasuke." The Knave spat, spitting out the name like it was a particular food he hated, "I have no say in this matter. She's adamant." Then turned on his heel, walking off and leaving the raven to stream curses after him with much foul language.

Once he saw the other male vanish, Sasuke spun round, going back to the curled up, blue ball that was his small bundle of happiness. Gently, he un curled the boy, pulling him into his arms which was responded with the smaller burrowing into him and sniffling once again as he grew more confused.

Shushing him, Hatter kissed away the tears from those cerulean eyes before planting a gentle kiss upon his forehead as he quietened him. Handing moving in gentle motions on his back, the tanned male soon quietened down, just sniffling here and there but the majority of his tears had stopped though a few still escaped.

"Naruto, I will not let her hurt you. I set up a plan, one to come get you out." He whispered into the younger's ear, then kissed the boy's cheek and looked around at the surroundings of the dungeon. Pulling a disgusted face, he looked down at the teen curled up in his arms as baby-blue eyes locked onto his jet-black ones.

"P-Promise?" The small plead came from the blonde's lips, tearing at Sasuke's heart as he nodded frantically, wanting to reassure him.

"I promise. Now all of you come here." He lifted a pale hand, beckoning the two on the bed over and they went over slowly, sitting on the floor in front of him and Naruto as the Hatter swallowed softly, "Now, here's what will happen." He mumbled, then went on to explain the whole plan to them all with a sly smirk upon his face.

* * *

Groaning Sasuke opened his eyes, the pain in his head making itself very apparent as he pushed himself up and looked around. Not being able to push himself up more, he paused, looking at the arm that was draped over his chest and looked over at the sleeping face of his blonde next to him. A smile slipped onto his face before he realised the time, his face turning paler than naturally. It was dawn, in a few hours, or minutes, guards would be down to take Alice away to be beheaded.

Swallowing down the rising anger, he shifted onto his side, pulling the tanned blonde into chest and holding him like that as his pale fingers gently moved through the spiky mass of sunshine-yellow hair. The sight tugged at his heart strings, if the plan was to go wrong, then Alice would be taken from him...

_No, Sasuke, stop. Don't think negative! _He scolded himself from within his head before looking down at his lover's sleeping face and a small smile tugged at his lips before he planted a soft kiss upon his cheek. Letting his fingers fall to the cheek, he slowly trailed his fingers over the whiskered markings, smiling faintly as he felt the other stir beneath them.

"Naruto?" The raven whispered, only going as loud as he dared and was rewarded with a small grunted reply as the other stirred more and azure irises were revealed, the boy's eyes flickering open, and locked on to him. A smile broke onto his face, it was warm and made his insides tingle, the other couldn't help but faintly smile back.

"Morning, Sasuke." Naruto said groggily, his soft voice husky from sleep. At the sound of it shivers ran down the Hatter's back as he looked deep into the blue-eyed blonde's eyes.

Sasuke smiled at that, cupping his cheek and planting a quick kiss on his lips before pulling back, "Sleep well?" He asked, voice smooth and calm as he examined the healing cut on his cheek. Beaming, the other nodded softly, nuzzling into his chest and closing his eyes as he settled back down.

"Love you, Sasuke." The drowsy voice then mumbled softly, rubbing his eyes as he looked around in silence before sitting up. The Hatter followed him up into a sitting position, rubbing lazy circles on the small back while resting his chin on top the mass of unruly blonde hair, closing his eyes softly.

"Love you too, Alice." The raven responded, his smile evident upon his face but it wasn't that bold on his lips. Lazily, his hands stopped moving and slid round the waist of the other as he looked over his shoulder at him. That tanned face graced with a dopey smile.

"Don't forget me. Even if it goes wrong." Alice then mumbled, leaning back into his arms and resting his head on his shoulder, then kissed the pale jaw beside him making the other smile sadly as obsidian eyes grew darker at the thought of everything going wrong that had filtered back into his head.

"I-It won't." Sasuke croaked, trying to will his tears away, his eyes searching the other's for any sign of doubt, but there was none. It lifted his spirits to see that the blonde trusted his words and he inhaled a shaky breath once more before they heard footsteps coming down from the stairs, murmurs echoing out as whoever it was quietly discussed the execution.

Silence resonated between them as the Tweedles woke, the both sitting up in sync as they blinked softly at the amount of noise and exchanged a look between them. Their eyes then fell on the forms of the two lovers that were in the dungeon with them, watching as the taller tightened his grip on the one in his arms and planted a quick kiss on his cheek.

Guards appeared down by the archway as they entered the dungeon, walking over to the cage where their own dark orbs locked onto the faintly trembling form of Naruto as they grimly smiled and glanced between each other once again. One reached into his pocket, pulling out a wad of jingling keys before picking out the cell key and jimmying it into the lock.

The silence was suffocating, making the small teen's fear climb, setting into the back of his mind as a small hiss that whispered thoughts of doubt. A loud clunk broke through, signalling the cell door had been opened and they opened it, looking over to them all before signalling Alice to walk over.

"C'mon, Alice." One grunted, their eyes seeming to burn into the boy's flesh as he untangled himself from Sasuke's arms and dragged himself over. The first guard turned him, chaining his hands together before he signalled for the other one to do the same to the rest, "Time to get ready."

"Get up, you three. The Queen has requested you witness this." The second guard barked, marching over and pulling them all to their feet before chaining them all together and watching the first lead Naruto away with rough pulls and yanks. Sasuke's stomach churned as he felt the urge to yell abuse after the guard as the other three were pulled in tow by the second guard.

Continuing to watch, the Hatter's eyes remained locked onto the guard that was yanking and dragging the blonde up the stairs, seeing the smaller loose his footing several times before they all reached the top and were made to follow down the hall as they began to lead them to the grand courtyard where the execution was going to take place.

All three of the dark haired males could practically feel their amusement radiating off them as the blonde teen trembled as they grew closer and closer, his eyes were wide and fearful, jittering left and right to see leering faces on either side as they watched them all pass. Most the smirks were saved for when their eyes fell on Sasuke, their amusement that he was about to lose the only person he'd learned to love was apparent as the sun setting.

Returning their smug expressions with a souring glare of his own, the raven continued to walk as if he had purpose though his heart was telling him to fall to the floor and cry, just cry. It felt like it was cracking in two, the plan might not work then Alice would be gone forever. His life would lose the only sunlight it'd found, just his luck.

Upon reaching the courtyard doors, he visibly saw Naruto tense before he was shoved out into the sunlight, his tanned skin seeming to glow once the rays hit it head on. There was murmurs of voices before he was shoved forward, the guard leading him off and the second guard took them to the viewing area which had been set up. Sakura sat upon a throw, her jaw was bruising black where his fist had made contact and they were forced to sit down beside her.

"Sasuke-kun, you can propose soon~!" She grinned, looking at him joyfully as if he hadn't punched her at all and he half-hoped he'd taken something sharp to her neck. That would have made her hate him, maybe get rid of her so she no longer annoyed him, it would have been more ideal.

He glowered at her, biting his tongue to keep his remark in as he turned back to watch Alice as he was roughly pulled over to where the executioner was waiting, a grizzly smirk on his face as he sized up the male then adjusted the axe in his hands as he watched the blonde get forced to his knees and pushed forward to lean on the chopping block.

Tanned neck exposed, the cerulean orbs were squeezed shut as the fear took over. The executioner lined the axe with the neck, the tip of the blade resting on the skin before the burly male brought it up over his head and got ready to swing it down on Alice. The obsidian eyes widened as he tensed, thoughts racing through his mind as he briefly thought the plan would fail.

Horns blared through the air, causing everyone to fall quiet as Sakura shot her feet, eyes widening as she screamed in anguish as the executioner lowered the axe to his side in puzzlement and looked around. Hatter's face curled into a cruel smile as he heard Naruto whimper softly.

"What's that?" His trembling voice echoed out, making him sound vulnerable and the pinkette glanced at him, shooting a dirty look at Sai as she demanded him to do something through a mere expression on her face. The Knave simply shrugged in sympathy as he stared at the Hatter as if he knew he had something to do with this.

"What are _they_ doing here?!" The Red Queen yelled, her anger rising as she spun round, trying to spot the approaching people.


	8. Chapter 8: The White Queen's Rescue

**A/N: Gaah! I'm done! Just two more chapters and I can bury this! This fic was so bad, it makes me wanna cry. X3 ****But here you go, Chapter 8, just for you. **

**Hope you enjoy! :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't Naruto, in any way, or its characters.**

**- Our Bleeding Shadow**

* * *

**Chapter 8: The White Queen's Rescue**

**Words: **3,218

_"What are _they_ doing here?!" The Red Queen yelled, her anger rising as she spun round, trying to spot the approaching people. _

Struggling against the chains, Sasuke gritted his teeth as he tried to free his wrists but had no luck and shot his gaze over to where Naruto was to find him sitting on his knees, looking around with a shocked look on his face. The plan had followed through. It was such a relief that the raven visually chuckled to himself, getting a few pairs of eyes falling on him.

It was close enough now to hear horses approaching, the horn still blazing as to signal their arrival when people dressing in white crashed into the courtyard, arriving round from the sides of the red palace or by simply crashing through the gates. Every rider was dressed in white as Sakura's suspicions were confirmed, the neighbouring palace had decided to drop in.

Their Queen was in front of the ones that came round from the right side of the palace, her smirk shining brightly as she flicked her blonde hair over her shoulder and gently petted her horses mane as she stared the pinkette down with a smug look. It just made the Red Queen's blood boil as she glared at her, folding her arms.

Alice wasn't paying attention to the tension between the two royals of Wonderland, his eyes taken by the horse sized dog just left of the White Queen, he had a rider perched on his back with a tangled mess of brunette hair and red triangle markings on his cheeks below his eyes. He was wearing similar clothing to Sai, take out the ridiculous belly top, which made it click in the blonde male's mind that he must have been the White Knave.

"Sakura." The White Queen spoke, her voice sounding rather hostile toward the other Queen and said female bristled in that fact that she was being spoken to. Jade eyes narrowing, she flicked her rosy-pink locks over her shoulder before quickly giving a glance over to Sai, then back to the female in white.

"Ino." She responded through gritted teeth in greeting, which only made the Hatter snicker to himself at the tension rising between them. Getting a pointed stare from both of them, he bit his tongue and simply smirked before glancing over at Naruto who was still too close to the executioner for the raven's liking, at any point could that idiot get beheaded if he didn't get away. Though he was no longer leaning on the chopping block, but he was still worried for his little lover.

"What brings you here?" Sakura spoke up again, her jaw setting into a determined line as she tried to work out the number of possibilities to why the blonde Queen would turn up in her part of Wonderland with an army, like she was planning to conquer.

"A rescue mission." A soft wave of the hand from Ino, signalling several guards to go get the prisoners of the temperamental female before her. They moved quickly, taking hold of the three males' chains first and leading them over to some horses where they waited as a few others went over to Naruto, hooking their hands under his arms. Lifting him to his feet, they then began to lead him over to their Queen who looked him over.

"They're my prisoners, they've offended me and Sasuke-kun was going to propose!" The Red Queen whined, scowling at the White Queen who rolled her eyes, looking at her with a simple stare as she felt a little disgust.

Shaking her head, her blonde ponytail moved from side to side, "I know, for a fact, Alice never did anything apart from having Sasuke fall in love with him. Four people came to me and told me everything when the Hatter set out for here yesterday." She smirked, placing her hands on her hips and leaning forward slightly to taunt the other.

"Four people, like who?" The sharp question was made, the emerald-eyed female's anger rising as she dared the blonde girl to spill who they were. How dare they tell on her, and to Ino of all people!

"The Dormouse, Hinata and the March Hare, Neji." Ino began but Sakura interrupted.

"Both crazy, how can you trust a word they say?" Her smirk was back as she tried to argue her way out of this.

"There's Shikamaru, the Cheshire Cat."

"He speaks nonsense, you really sure you understood clearly?"

The White Queen glared at her, but controlled her anger as she spat out the last one, "The White Rabbit, Kakashi." Then watched as the shock registered on the pinkette's face and she shot an anxious look to Sai, begging him to help her but he stayed silent, becoming fascinated with his left shoe while completely ignoring his Queen.

The White Knave smirked at that as Kakashi appeared by his side, he was wearing a red uniform, showing he had worked for the Red Queen and Naruto felt sorry for him, before looking up at the triangle marked teen to study him more. His eyes then flickered onto the blonde teen, seeming to look him over before offering a smile.

"Such a shame, eh?" He spoke up, then looked at Sasuke before locking eyes with Sakura, "That your own worker betrayed you." Then smirked as the watched the pinkette bristle in anger and scowled at him.

"Shut up, Kiba." She hissed at him glowering as he merely grinned at her mischievously and stuck his tongue out to rile her up more. It worked, her eyes shooting daggers at him for immaturity and she stamped her foot, crying out in frustration. Kiba just grinned, shooting a wink at Alice which caused the jealousy within Sasuke to spike.

Clenching his fists, he heard the rabbit produce jingling keys as he headed over to the Tweedles and freed them from their chains, feebly glancing at the Hatter as he did the same. Which only made the teen smile faintly and rub his wrists before taking the keys, going over to the blonde male and unlocking the chains himself, watching them un-clasp and fall to the ground before tossing the hoop of metal back to the silver-haired male and pulling his lover into his arms.

Alice was silent, cuddling in as he kept drawing his lower lip into his mouth to nibble on it which only made the pinkette's anger bubble more as she narrowed her eyes and growled at them, her jade-green eyes watching them with bitterness that pooled in her gut. Ino, on the other hand, managed to smile faintly at the scene. Her murky blue eyes fixed firmly on the two forms, it was true that she'd had a crush on Sasuke once, but she only really wanted him to be happy. This Alice did just that, made him happy.

There had been a time when she would have wanted to annihilate the poor boy for stealing the raven's heart, over time she'd realised her love was one sided and just let the obsession ease over time. An ivory hand reached out, grabbing the back of Naruto collar before yanking him back, the Red Queen still letting her jealousy burn strong grabbed the dagger strapped to one of her nearby guards' side and placed it to his throat.

"You will _not _win him." She spat, her rage showing in all its glory at that moment in time. Appalled, the Hatter was looking at the wide eyed expression that had once again appeared on the tanned face of the other as he swallowed fearfully, showing he was very aware of the blade pressing on his windpipe.

Kiba got down from his dog, running up to the White Queen's side as she, too, watched in disgust at the cheap tricks that the other female was playing. He launched forward as the pinkette turned her head, wrestling for the knife after swiftly grabbing hold of the slender wrist and pulling the blade from the boy's throat. Giving him a harsh shove in Sasuke's direction, the raven could only reach out and pull the quivering mess into him.

The White Knave smacked the knife to the floor, tutting at Sakura's attempt before pushing her to Sai and pointing at the two of them, "Sai, I'd advise you to keep your Queen in check. Ino is still acting ruler of _all _of Wonderland, despite giving Sakura half to watch over." He warned them, making the Red Knave nod in understanding.

"That's true. I will have you banished to the outlands, Sakura." The blonde Queen threw in her own threat and smirked at the fear that flickered in the blank male's eyes but showed on the face of his Queen. Shooting the actual couple a satisfied smirk, she nodded as the Hatter gave her a grateful smile, "Now, Sasuke, your two friends are back at my palace, I request you and Alice stay with us."

He smiled, taking off his hat and bowing before replacing it back on his head, "I would feel honoured, my Queen." He responded kindly and took hold of the bandaged hand and kissed Alice's knuckles before letting Kiba lead him over to his horse and help him on, "I ask to share a horse with you?"

Sakura's eyes were bugging out her head when Ino nodded and began to lead him back to her horse, mounting before helping him up and then nodded at her guards so they would lead the way, which they did. Galloping off round the buildings, she followed with her Knave in tow before the other half of guards took up the rear.

Holding tightly to the brunette's sides, Naruto looked down at the big dog before hearing the other male laugh softly, petting the dog's head as he praised him, "Good boy, Akamaru."

"Akamaru?" The small blonde asked quietly, looking down at the white fur then back at the triangle-marked boy who nodded softly and patted the dog again. Barking at the sound of his name, Akamaru's tail swayed from side to side in response, making the smaller laugh softly at him and also pet the fur, but on his side rather than his head.

"Yeah, he's my best friend and partner." The dog lover replied, scratching behind the dog's ear and smiled coyly as he barked again in appreciation of the attention. Tail wagging more, Akamaru continued to walk just behind Ino's horse with a grin upon his face.

It took just under an hour, but soon they arrived after countless, long-winded conversations between Kiba and Naruto, jealous grunts from Sasuke and the occasional demand from Ino and they came to a stop outside the opal palace. The exterior seeming to sparkle in the light, giving it a much more breathtaking first sight that the Red Queen's castle.

Everyone fell silent, just ignoring the guards as they dispersed from the rest, heading back to their usual duties. Sasuke dismounted, going over to Naruto and pulling him down from the dog into his arms and kissing his cheek to let Kiba know who the smaller belonged to. It only made the brown-haired teen roll his eyes as the blonde giggled happily, not realising the possessiveness of that single kiss.

Obsidian eyes bore into the sharp black slits as the male clambered down from his white dog that then shrunk to a smaller side, coming up to just above his ankle and barked happily at the other two, running around them before returning to his master's side. Lifting his head, baby-blue eyes focused on two running forms that were approaching them, smiling joyfully as they noticed that they both were okay - Hinata and Neji.

Hinata reached them first, pulling Alice into a tight hug as she grinned at him happily then blushed and returned to being shy - her happiness having taken over at that moment. It didn't go much as much of a surprise for the raven nor her cousin but mostly to the victim of her affection who was smiling faintly at her, not what to say to the blushing mouse in front of him.

"I-I'm glad you're a-alright, Naruto-kun." The dark navy-blue haired girl spoke up, poking her two forefingers together as Neji passed her, ruffling Naruto's hair and smiling, which was the best greeting he was going to get from Neji. That made the smaller's face split into another smile at the friendliness of his friends. Everything would be okay now. They were all together.

* * *

Alive with colours of the sunset, Naruto was perched on the window sill, watching the sky with azure eyes that reflected the colours within them as he let a grateful smile slip onto his face. Placing his palm against the chilled glass, his eyes picked out the deep reds, oranges, soft yellows and breaching purples that peered through the rosy pinks as they began to give through to night. It was truly magical to watch.

He gave in, resting his head against the glass as he heard the shower stop from the bathroom, signalling that Sasuke had gotten out, finally. After dinner, they'd all returned to their rooms, the raven darting straight for the bathroom with some sprung excuse about disinfecting himself with great pain behind his voice. Which had only confused the tanned teen with why the other had acted like that, but came to a roughly sketched conclusion that the other was overreacting to the times he may have made contact with Sakura.

The lock clicking brought the blonde out of his musings as the door opened and said male walked out with a towel round his waist. He raised his obsidian eyes to where the other was sat, curled up in the window and shot him a small smirk as he saw him watching.

"Naruto, I'm going to change, but the bathroom's free." The Hatter told him, making Alice tear his eyes away from the ashen chest that looked like it had been sculpted from marble. Then the taller watched as the younger scrabbled up and stumbled around the room, grabbing a towel then fled into the bathroom, shutting and locking the door behind him.

Once it was shut, he let our a relieved gush of air from his lungs and placed his towel on the side before slowly unbuttoning the blue over jacket and slipping it off. He folded it up, noticing the faded dust imprints here and there where he'd spent a long time in that dungeon. Shaking his head, Naruto folded it and placed it down before removing and doing the same with his other articles of clothing.

As soon as he was out of everything, he moved over to the shower, reaching in and switching on the water. Squeaking, he withdrew his arm as the shower head blasted icy water onto his skin and waited for it to warm up, again. What was it with showers like these? They were all warm but moments after the warm water has been switched off the cold water comes back like a torpedo.

Grumbling, his shook the water from his skin, then checked the temperature of the shower with his finger, a smile breaking out on his face as he noted that the shower was warming back up - fairly quickly too. Waiting until the temperature was warm enough, he got under the flow of water, feeling the water pelting his skin and was glad it wasn't scalding hot.

Standing under the rushing water, the blonde let himself relax, closing his eyes to flicker through his thoughts. They were all jumbled, making his head spin as he leaned against the wall of the shower and raised his hand to his head. It was nice to feel the dirt running off his skin with the water, his un-bandaged hands feeling free once more. There was little scars where the thorns had scratched them up, but they were small and fading.

He still had no way of getting home, he couldn't stay in Wonderland forever. It was impossible for him to avoid returning to his real world. Leaving his heart to feel like it was shattering, he got a sponge, wetting it before squirting the shower gel on, stepping out of the water's direct beam to place the sponge to his skin and start working the gel in and watch the suds appear as he coated his body.

Fully coated, he stepped back under the shower and felt the water wash the gel from his skin, leaving him smiling dopily at how relaxing it was. Probably the most relaxing thing Alice's done since arriving in Wonderland. After all, the Hatter's Domain compared to here wasn't exactly 'relaxing' material - more of a nuthouse.

Shaking his head, Naruto finished off what he needed to do, shampooing and conditioning his hair before turning off the water flow and stepping out of the shower. Reaching to the side, he let his fingers ghost over the towel before grabbing it, pulling it toward him and wrapping it round his frame as he shivered as the cold air assaulted his body.

Rubbing the fluffy cloth over his skin, he felt the friction wipe the water from his skin and drying it. He kept drying himself until he was satisfied and placed the towel over his head to do his hair. A knock at the door made him realise that he'd been spending too long and Sasuke was getting impatient.

"Naruto, I have something to ask you. I'd prefer face to face than through a wooden door." He told the boy bluntly, sighing softly to himself.

Pulling on his clothes, he moved over to the door while hopping into his trousers after his boxers were on, unlocking it as he then grabbed his shirt and jacket. Slowly, the door swung open, revealing an amused looking raven who looked at the shirtless blonde in front of him, who looked at him with a curious gaze with the white cotton towel over his head.

Chuckling softly, he went over, placing his pale hands on the towel and began to dry the other's hair for him, causing Alice to make a small grumble in protest but not actually do anything physical to stop him. Hands hanging by his sides, he kept hold of his other articles of clothing before the older deemed his hair dry enough and removed the cloth and stared at him with a warm look in his eyes.

"So, what did you want to ask?" Naruto asked him grumpily, pulling on his shirt and fumbling with the buttons as he poked his tongue out in concentration.

That caused Sasuke to laugh lightly as he helped him do up the buttons, making the azure eyes rise and lock with his as he smirked amused at the boy's efforts with trying to do what was needed when he was so distracted. It was cute.

"I wanted to ask you to accompany me tomorrow. Like a date." The Hatter explained calmly, looking up at the smaller with a calm look on his face and a glint within his coal-black orbs as the other blushed faintly, swallowing down his nerves.


	9. Chapter 9: The Date

**A/N: Okay! Done! This is Chapter 9, just one more chapter to go then it's over! Nada! Finished! Why am I using lots of exclamation marks? **

**Hope you enjoy~**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, or its characters, in any way. **

**- Our Bleeding Shadow**

* * *

**Chapter 9: The Date**

**Words: **3,475

_"I wanted to ask you to accompany me tomorrow. Like a date." The Hatter explained calmly, looking up at the smaller with a calm look on his face and a glint within his coal-black orbs as the other blushed faintly, swallowing down his nerves. _

Naruto blinked at him, scratching the back of his head as he thought over the answer, the blush still burning on his cheeks and it was very obvious that it was there. It only made Sasuke shift, as if he knew the blonde's answer without meeting his eyes, those baby-blue orbs were glazed as he pondered over it and it would only make him feel pressured.

"I-I can't. I have to find my way home... Sorry." The smaller responded finally, hanging his head instantly as the guilt swarmed into his stomach instantly, eating away at it. That made the other's eyes swirl into a hesitant pool but then a small smile spread on his lips as he had considered this.

"I know. The Queen's guards are searching for us, I asked them to. But please, come on this one date with me while they search." The raven pleaded, taking the petite hands in his slender ones, squeezing them reassuringly as the blonde paused, reconsidering.

Pursing his lips, Naruto seemed to think about this before looking at him with a steady gaze and nodding as he let a smile appear on his face, "Okay!" He agreed chirpily. That made a natural smile appear on Sasuke's face as he pulled the small blonde into a tight hug, which was returned with much eagerness as they just remained where they were stood.

Long, ashen fingers soon hooked under Alice's chin as the dark haired male pushed it up so his eyes were locked once again with the many shades of blue that were within the irises of the other, his eyes glazed slightly with expectancy of what the Hatter was going to do. He smirked at that, bringing his lips to the tempting ones in front of him.

Tongue snaking out, the taller flicked the muscle against the pink flesh before his hand slid into the blonde locks behind the other's head, gently pushing him closer as well until their lips molded together. Tension that the blonde had melted away instantly, the blood rushing to his face instead as he felt the raven move his lips against his own, coaxing him to move with him.

Slowly, the smaller moved his lips, making them move in sync with Sasuke's as they engaged in the blissful moment right where they were stood. His knees felt weak, not used to feeling this type of emotion toward another person and it scared the small teen in a way that he couldn't describe, but when he felt the other's tongue slide over his bottom lip the fear melted away.

Parting his lips slightly, he felt the raven slip his tongue into his mouth tangling with his own in a dance for dominance which the older automatically won as he had the upper advantage of surprise. It made the blonde's head spin as he tried to recollect his thoughts which were blown out of proportion and racing round his head like buzzing bees.

Pulling back for air, the pale male took the other's hand, leading him into the room as he stretched and acted like nothing just happened as he sat on the single, double bed that was positioned in the room. Pulling the smaller down beside him, he smiled as noticed the white, silken pyjamas that had been laid out for them by one of Ino's servants and chuckled softly to himself.

Naruto had lay down, his eyes drifting shut as the excitements of the day finally caught up with him, wearing him out completely and gently, the Hatter shook him, trying to prevent him from falling asleep but was only met with the lazy swipe of a tanned hand and a grumble of protest.

"Come on, put your pyjamas on first. Sleep after." He instructed, watching Alice tiredly sit up and begin changing the suit for the bed clothes. Only a few times had Sasuke had to help him as the other was dropping off as he was changing, his azure eyes slowly vanishing beneath drooping eye lids.

Once the blonde was done, the dark-haired teen watched the other slump over on the pillows as he fell asleep, his breathing gentle as he started to snore softly. Rolling his eyes, a deep chuckle echoed from with the raven's chest as he gently slipped the latter beneath the covers and tucked him in, planting a small kiss upon his cheek. He'd better change and get some sleep too, they had a long day tomorrow.

* * *

_Ugh, what time was it?_ Groggy thoughts began to pool in Naruto's mind as he pushed himself up and looked around at the room he was in, noticing that it was empty apart from him. Rubbing his eyes, he moved slightly, climbing out of the bed and heading the window, dragging his feet over the carpet as he walked.

Reaching the window, he stared out, watching people move below on the castle grounds as they went about their daily work. So absorbed in looking out the window, the blonde failed to notice the door opening to reveal a specific raven as he walked into the room and blinked when he saw that the sleeping beauty was finally awake.

"Naruto?" He spoke up, watching the smaller jump, then tense as he turned to blink at him with a wide-eyed glance only to relax as he saw it was Sasuke. A warm smile slipped onto the tanned face as he watched the other approach him, stopping just in front and let his arms snake around his waist, pulling him close.

"Morning, Sasuke." Alice replied, letting his own arms slide up, going round the taller's neck, "How was your sleep?" He chuckled, watching the other kiss his nose and rest his forehead against the other.

"It was fine. Now get dressed, we have that date, remember?"

Realisation shone on the blonde's faces notifying that he had in fact let that little thing slip his sleep ridden mind, "Oh! Oh yeah!" He mumbled, before squirming free of the raven's grasp and running over to his pile of clothing. Grabbing ahold of them, he tossed the clothing onto the bed, starting his struggle with the pyjama top, wrestling to get the buttons undone.

Shaking his head, the older laughed lightly at the determination on the other's face as he continued to struggle with his buttons. He walked over, tapping the tanned hands away before undoing them himself and slipping the silk fabric off the tanned frame, looking at the unmarred skin of the teen before him.

Noticing he was staring, he quickly lifted the white dress shirt and slipped it on in place of the pyjama top, beginning to do up the buttons in silence as he did so. After that he pushed the blue trousers into Alice's hands, instructing him to put them on. Nodding, the other slipped out of the pyjama bottoms before jumping into his blue clothing and grinning happily before letting the taller help him into the matching blazer.

"There. All ready." Sasuke stated, watching Naruto blush as he nodded in agreement, letting the other walk him to the door to slip his shoes on. Slipping his feet into them, cerulean eyes watched as the other left the room, stopping out in the hallway and waiting for the smaller to join him at his side.

Kneeling, the tanned male then moved his hands, tying his laces as he stuck his tongue out in concentration. It was a cute scene, watching the latter tie his laces with a look of determined concentration upon his face, it set the Hatter's heart all a flutter just observing.

Once done, Alice jumped to his feet, grinning, "All done! Let's go!" He exclaimed chirpily, running out of the room and to the raven's side before taking his hand in his and giving it a soft squeeze. The happiness that radiated from him was blindingly contagious, making his lover feel the warmth that bubbled within his gut.

The raven started to lead the way, walking along the hall with the bouncy teen at his side. Having zoned out, he didn't hear a word the other was babbling, just focusing on the fact that the moment was finally here, that they were finally going on a date. He was just glad the danger no longer had hold of them both.

He didn't even notice that the younger had asked him a question until he received an elbow in the ribs, snapping him back into reality, "Hey, I asked you something. Were you listening, Sasuke?" Turning his head, obsidian orbs locking with azure ones as they questioned him with a stern gaze.

"Sorry," Sasuke chuckled in an awkward reply, "Could you repeat it? I kind of zoned out." He felt his cheeks heat up in embarrassment and mentally scolded himself for letting the other catch him off guard like that.

"I asked if you were sure you told the White Queen and her guards to search for my way home." Naruto mumbled, looking at the floor sadly, "I want to stay here but I'm not part of this world... My family would be worried." Guilt laced his voice, showing he was second guessing this choice.

"I did. I'll just meet you in the next life, okay? So, don't go falling in love with anyone else." The Hatter told him, smiling faintly at him as they then re-met each other's gaze. The taller lifting his hand and flicking the latter on the nose, making him blink in shock then scowl at him, playfully, before shoving him in response.

They both had bright smiles on throw faces as they reached the stairs, the two of them going down them two at a time as they became more eager to start their date. The Hatter had it all planned out, breakfast first, followed by a stroll through the palace gardens that would lead to a nicely set up area where they would be allowed to spend time together before they were lead to the gazebo to enjoy a nice dinner that was compliments of the cook.

It was as perfect as him and Ino could come up with, there was a scarce number of activities within and outside of the castle, it was a miracle they even came with that rough idea of a date. Lucky for the raven, the blonde Queen had offered to pitch in, before leaving to find the path home for Alice, to make the date as romantic as she possible could with them still able to have fun.

"So... What we doing first?" Naruto asked, rocking on his heels before inclining his head toward Sasuke as they came to the bottom of the stairs and he was pulled along to the dining hall.

The other turned, flashing him a heart stopping smile, one that actually showed he'd let the blonde worm his way into his life over the past week, "Breakfast first. I'm sure you've got to be starving at the moment, am I right?" He stated, the mad gleam still there in his eyes with the faint glitter of affection.

"I am!" Alice gasped in realisation, nodding happily as he imagined a plate high with pancakes, "Breakfast is a great start!" His hand rested on his stomach, giving it a few lazy rubs making the fabric of his clothes bunch and crease under his hand before falling neatly when his hand dropped back to his side.

Nodding his head, the Hatter reached up with a slender hand, adjusting his hat as they reached the door before flexing it and resting against the surface of the door to the dining room. A smirk curved onto his lips as he pushed it open, walking in while still clasping the warm, petite hand of the male beside him in his other hand.

The smell of pancakes hit them, hard, momentarily knocking off his feet, mentally as they both moved to the table, taking up their required seats and sat there inhaling the heavenly scent that was soon to be devoured by them.

"Mm, pancakes." The smaller grinned, the anticipation on his face was visibly there as the doors to the kitchen opened and servants walked in carrying their pancakes, cream, sugar, honey, syrup, you name it. He was practically drooling as the grew closer with their food.

Even the taller was on the verge of dribbling over the food but kept his self control together long enough not to. The clink of china as it touched the wood sounded out as the plates were placed in front of them, the smell of the heavenly breakfast hitting them straight on. They both fell on the pancakes straight away, Sasuke pouring honey onto his as Naruto stuck with the cream.

Eating in peace, the both of them continued to eat, content with getting the warm food in them before they actually properly started their date. Where the raven ate carefully, being careful to be clean and not spill a single drop of the savoury food, whereas Alice had cream trailing from the corner of his mouth down to his chin where he didn't take the necessary precautions to stay tidy.

Upon finishing, he tilted his head, looking at the cream that was on the blonde's chin before moving his hand closer, wiping it up with a slender finger before placing the digit in his mouth and licked it off, making the other blush as he did, finishing up his breakfast himself.

"Y-You didn't have to do that." He stammered, his face flushing a rosy pink before he hung his head. The Hatter chuckled, tapping the tanned jaw twice before pulling him closer, close enough to plant a small kiss on his cheek, before looking directly at him with a soft gaze.

Coal-black eyes shone soothingly, his lips curling up into a warm smile, "I know, but I wanted to," Which only caused the smaller's face to burn bright red, his blush spreading to the tips of his ears. The sight of an embarrassed Alice sent his heart racing like nothing else, that was maybe why he got a pleasure from teasing the blonde.

The other was squirming in his seat, shocked and embarrassed by Sasuke's words but he was starting to get used to it as he was then pulled to his feet and brought closer to the taller. Naruto could smell the honey on his breath and the strawberry cake scent on his clothing before he was forced to meet the dark irises.

"Naruto, don't be embarrassed." He soothed softly, leaning down and planting a kiss upon the peach lips that awaited below, "We shall take a stroll through the gardens." He explained, flashing the other a bright smile. That made the other weak at the knees, the raven's real smile a true sight to behold.

Sheepishly, baby blue orbs were raised to lock with the latter's eyes, smiling dopily as he nodded eagerly, ready to spend some time with Sasuke, alone. The Hatter took the crook of the smaller's arm then, leading him out of the dining room. As they both walked, he looked at the floor, thinking carefully about the rest of the day that they'd spend together.

Just thinking about it set a smile into his face as they passed people, servants and guards, in the hall, giving nods of greetings. In reality, what was the older really like? Everyone in Wonderland was an alter ego for someone in the real world. _Am I even near Naruto? _He though worriedly, shooting a discreet look at the other from the corner of his mind.

Approaching the doors, two guards decked in white saw them and opened the doors and opened them ready. The both of them stood at attention with the doors open as the two lovers passed, "Have a nice day, sirs!" They both boomed.

"Thank you." The raven replied, tipping his hat slightly in respect to both of them as they passed from the heat of the castle into the chilled, warm air of their surroundings. All around them, the fragrance of pollen hung and swayed with the gentle breeze that blew onto their skin, ruffling the golden spikes. Before them was a garden decked with white roses, tulips, pansies and daisies, all neatly arranged that led to an arch that was covered in the roses. They twisted, turned and covered the metal frame; just through there the two of them could see a marble fountain that had a carefully carved angel on top, in her hands a stone rose, that had water spouting up all around her.

"It's magnificent." Naruto gasped, his eyes wide as he took it all in. Mouth agape, he took a few steps forward, looking around more before looking down, looking at the bright green grass below their feet that went on throughout the garden.

"That it is." Sasuke agreed, coming up to his side and slipping his arm around the other's waist before looking at him. Azure turned to him, reflecting a heart warming sparkle that just shone with life as the older began to steer them both toward the arch. Secretly glad there wasn't a cloud in sight, he looked forward again, "I've only been here once before on occasion."

"You must have liked it. Ino's friendlier than Sakura, that's a fact." Alice mumbled, his reply rather simple and that made the taller chuckled lightly, nodding in agreement, passing under the arch with him.

"She is. But it was only for an hour or two while Neji organised our domain to be authorised to be where it is now." He explained, honestly, letting his eyes flicker up to the sky, remembering the day clearly in his mind as if it had only happened the day before.

Hours passed, the both of them wandering mindlessly through the garden, talking, before coming to a gazebo. It was white, of course, but roses spiralled up the sides, wrapped around the the sides, but also growing up the wall. Inside was a table, candlelit due to the evening sky above them. They'd spent the day, fairly peacefully, sharing thoughts and ideas. Sharing stories about themselves, which the blonde had struggled with a first, but then found much easier. It was almost as if he'd forgotten then remembered once more.

Leading the younger up into the gazebo, Sasuke took him to the table, pulling out a chair for him before allowing the other to sit. Once seated, the other watched him stroll round to his chair and take up a seat himself. Their eyes locked once more as they heard a soft violin playing nearby and two guards approached, leaving two glasses of lemonade on the table.

Another two followed in suit, carrying their dinner upon identical silver trays and Naruto let his eyes flicker there before returning to the raven sat opposite him with a look of amazement on his face, "Today's been great." He complimented him, grinning and that boosted the other's ego, "Of course, I expected something less. I didn't take you for the soppy romantic type."

Narrowing his eyes, the Hatter saw the teasing glint that hid within those irises and smirked coyly, "I expected you to, dobe." He shot back, making the smaller burst out laughing, making his heart swell without his consent.

"Oh really, teme?" Alice teased once more, peering at him with a amused smile upon his face as he looked over at the other challengingly, which only made the Hatter give him the same look back.

"Really." He smirked more, jet-black eyes locked onto the eyes opposite him with a burning intensity. _It should always be like this_. He thought simply, before straightening up and tapping the table, "Let's eat." He stated, earning a brisk nod in agreement from his date.

Before they could tuck in, a excited shout rang out, startling them both and they quickly turned their heads in that direction to see Kakashi hurrying over. Bitterly, the raven wandered what could be so important to ruin their date, it was rude to do so for something not important. But that didn't prevent the latter staring on with curiosity, blinking as the rabbit stopped just outside the gazebo.

Panting, the rabbit looked at the two of them, "We found it." He told them, drawing confusion into their expressions before he feebly pointed in the direction they'd come from, "We found... The path... Back." Shock then filtered onto their faces as they remained stood where they were, staring at the rabbit.


	10. Chapter 10: Returning Home

**A/N: I'm done! This fic is now finished and yes, it was left on a cliff hanger. I am a mean person and I embrace my inner lucifer! *CoughCough* Anyway, I worked as hard as I was able without boring myself to death and this is the end. Thank you all for the follows and favourites! I appreciate it. **

**Hope you enjoy this last chapter! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, nor it's characters, in any way. **

**- Our Bleeding Shadow**

* * *

**Chapter 10: Returning Home**

**Words: **3,504

_Panting, the rabbit looked at the two of them, "We found it." He told them, drawing confusion into their expressions before he feebly pointed in the direction they'd come from, "We found... The path... Back." Shock then filtered onto their faces as they remained stood where they were, staring at the rabbit. _

Sasuke's mouth fell open, bewildered, he was unable to form a reply to that as he turned his head, glancing at Naruto. The other looked completely shocked, his eyes wide and his mouth agape slightly. Unlike his date, he didn't seem to be having the same problem of being incapable to even say one word.

"Y-You found _it_?!" The blonde stammered, his eyes widening more as it was confirmed with a nod from the silver-haired male as he straightened up, "You mean you _actually _found it?" The raven could tell his lover was astounded, probably thought it would take longer, but when Ino had something in her head she could get stuff done. Fast.

Kakashi merely blinked at him before nodding dumbly, "That was what I was implying. Was I not clear?" He enquired, tilting his head slightly as he blinked at them both, his single, visible eye still watching the two of them carefully as a bright smile then took over Alice's face when that was spoken. Despite his obvious joy, the boy was trembling slightly as he drummed his fingers off of his legs.

"_Oh my_. I can go _home_." He mumbled, the raised his eyes to lock onto Sasuke, guilt suddenly taking over his features as he realised what he'd just said and tears welled in his eyes. The sapphire orbs glittered as tiny beads appeared in the corner of his eyes before falling, rolling down his cheek, "But... Sasuke..." He turned, grabbing onto the Hatter's sleeve and clinging to it.

That made the other freeze, looking down at his blonde angel before pulling him into a hug and clinging to him, "Naruto, stop crying." He told him gently, brushing his fingers over the caramel skin of the other with a caring gentleness, "You can go home. I'll meet you in the other life, I promise."

The words spoken were met with a sniffle and the younger burying his face into his chest. Shoulders trembling, the quivering male before him buried his face into the older's chest, making his heart flutter. Reaching up he gently rubbed the other's back, smiling faintly as said male cuddled in more.

"But you won't remember me... Not like this." The raspy whisper echoed out, tearing Sasuke's heart in two as he looked down at the smaller. His heart lurched when he saw the reluctance and tears on the caramel skin, raising his thumb to wipe away his tears.

"I will. You just have to make me." Sasuke told him sweetly, planting a gentle kiss upon the boy's forehead and elicited a soft whimper from his lips.

"I-I'll do the best I can." He sniffled, making the raven nod at him, kissing his cheek before leading him down to Kakashi who was ready to lead them in the direction of the path home. The silver-haired male was turning on his heel, leading them off through the maze of the courtyard, glad they finally cut off their little heartwarming act.

They were weaving in and out of the tall, green hedges, moving quickly along. He stayed silent, all of them were, none of them daring to even breathe a sentence. Moving his eyes, the Hatter glanced at Naruto, who was staring at the floor as he walked. Blue irises still watering slightly, his lips quivering as he prevented whimpers slipping from them.

As they came to the edge of the courtyard, Kakashi paused, licking his lips beneath his mask before turning to look at the two teens in questioning before seeing the bleakness on the blonde's face. Tears brimming in his eyes, the younger sniffled before he looked up at them, running the back of his hands over his eyes to wipe the beads of water away.

Biting his lip, the boy's lover reached out, taking the small hand in his and gave it a small squeeze before looking straight at the White Rabbit with a steady gaze as he nodded his head, giving the small signal for him to continue on his way to the exit. Sighing said male turned then headed into the trees, aware the other two were in pursuit.

As they made their way through the trees, he was aware of the occasional sniffle from Alice as they walked, but was unsure what to say to ease up the tension. There were no words that would form in his mouth, none whatsoever as they all continued, occasionally stepping over thick locks and stuck up roots.

Hearing a muffled squeak then the ruffle of clothing as they moved had caused Kakashi to look over his shoulder and see Sasuke trying to steady the blonde who had tripped over a fairly large root. Naruto gritted his teeth, feeling more like an idiot as he turned his head to look at Sasuke with a look of apprehension.

"Sorry, I didn't look where I was walking." He whispered, voice shaking slightly before yelling out in shock as the Hatter lifted him, bridal style, sighing heavily as he stared the rabbit down until he turned back round and continued on his way, the other walking behind him with the bundle of yellow in his arms.

As they came up to a large semi circle that was formed by guards, the sound of air whooshing reaching their ears as Kakshi coughed and the guards parted to allow him to lead the other two through. Eyes widening, the two of them were stunned at the sight of a mirror propped up against the tree, the glass a bright rainbow swirl that seemed to beckon them toward it.

Placing Alice down, the Hatter stared at it, seeing the swirling mass of colours that were reflecting in the glass and raised his eyes to lock directly onto Ino, who turned and looked at them with a sympathetic gaze in her eyes. Her lips pulling into a sad smile as they both stared at the mirror before turning their looks to her.

"This is it. The way back." She told them softly, then pointed toward it, "I'm sorry, we found it so soon." Her murky blue eyes softening as she watched Sasuke's knees buckle and he nearly fell to the floor. Shock was registered upon his face, but he quickly shook his head and regained his composure.

Luckily, the blonde failed to notice his moment of weakness, his azure eyes staring directly at the way back to his world, his face blank since he had no idea what emotion to display. Anxiety, eagerness, guilt or sadness, there were too many flooding through him at that moment in time. Trying his best to keep track of all of them, he continued to stand there, looking at the mirror with his face still void of any emotion.

"There you go, Naruto." The older male spoke up, ignoring the rest gathered round as he signalled toward the portal, "Your way home." His voice threatened to crack, but he managed to hold it together, his obsidian eyes flickering to the floor.

"I-I know." The small blonde choked out, turning his head to look at the latter with a wide eyed gaze that shone with reluctance, "I-I don't know if I c-can leave." His voice cracked and broke unlike the raven's, showing his insecurity on the whole matter.

Striding forward, the Hatter grabbed the slender shoulders, squeezing them gently, "Naruto, this is your chance, you can't blow it. I will find you on the other side. I promise." Planting a chaste kiss upon the smaller's lips, he then looked directly into those pools of blue before managing a shaky smile.

"W-What if you don't like me, though?" Naruto choked out, his eyes watering more before he nibbled his lower lip in fear of what he would do if his words were true.

"Naruto, listen to me. I may be an indifferent jerk," Sasuke began, pausing as he pursed his lips at the sounds of snickers from the guards while he rethought his words, "Okay, I will be an indifferent jerk. But you have to try, okay?" His ashen fingers moved up to cup the other's cheek, caressing it as the boy managed a timid nod.

"O-Okay, Sasuke." Alice managed to mumble, before glancing toward the portal with a sceptical look upon his face. It made the raven's heart ache as, suddenly, the smaller wasn't in his embrace anymore and was making his was toward the portal, slowly. Stopping just in front of it, Naruto looked over his shoulder at them all in silence, before giving them all a shakey smile.

Every single one of them watched on with sad expressions as they realised - this was it, the loveable teen was going home - and teared up on the matter. Ino smiled back, noticing the indifferent mask on the Hatter's face as he watched with pain flickering in his obsidian eyes while the other turned back to face the mirror and blinked.

"I guess this is g-" He couldn't finish and hung his head, sniffling before hearing a child's laugh and rose his cerulean irises to stare in the portal as memories appeared in the rainbow swirls - his memories. Blinking in astonishment, he saw a smaller version of him running around, dragging a smaller version of Sasuke behind him, "Goodbye..." His words whooshed out before he took a step forward and vanished completely.

Shouts rung round his head, memories filling in the gaps that had been left empty during his time in Wonderland before he found himself floating and his vision faded to black, leaving him to await the real world and what would happen there.

* * *

"Is he-" A voice split through Naruto's mind, causing him to wince at the pain that followed, "Lucky-" Only parts of the sentences were getting into his mind, like the rest were unknown to him. The voice was familiar, the blonde could pinpoint that, but just not who it was who was talking to him - well, more like over him.

"Naruto, come on. Wake up." A soft voice sliced through him, causing a faint groan to slip out of his lips as he slowly eased his eyes open and blinked at the harsh lights that just made his head increase the pain that resided there. His drama teacher Sensei Hatake was leaning over him, his eyes peering down at him and the surgeon mask was on tightly in place to hide the rest of his face.

"Sen-sei?" The small teen's voice echoed out, eliciting a round of relieved sighs from everyone else on the stage. Kakashi broke out into a smile, nodding slightly and nodded, reaching out to pull the boy up into a sitting position, "W-What happened?"

"Shino knocked a light down. We didn't notice until it hit you on the head and you were unconscious." His teacher explained, sighing softly as he peered down at the boy with a worried glance, "Luckily, it wasn't that big..." He then moved behind the teen, checking for blood and nodded when he found none.

Naruto frowned at that, glancing around at everyone as he steadily focused on all their faces, then peered around at the room they were in, "Where are we?" He asked, confusion settled deep in his voice as the other's paused, looking at him with wide eyes. The room was dimly lit, a few spot lights shining down around them and illuminated the charcoal-black ground that he was sat on.

"The theatre." The silver-haired adult told him, helping him to his feet and brushed down his clothing before looking at the there who seemed to be watching on the scene with puzzled-mixed-with-worry looks, "We were working on the production, remember?" His eyes regarded the sun kissed blonde with worry as said male's brow creased while he tried to remember.

"Barely..." He responded, causing the group nearby to break out in murmurs as they discussed what was happening. Baby blue eyes adjusting, it didn't take long for the smaller realised they were stood on a stage and his eyes trailed over to the seats. A few others were sat there, but a particular raven sat at the front caught his eye. It was Sasuke Uchiha, he was sat there with his glasses perched on the end of his nose, peering over the top of his book at the scene.

Kakashi made a slight worried sound before looking in the direction the blonde was staring and clicked his fingers, "Uchiha, take Naruto to the nurses office, please. Don't kill each other on the way." He pre-warned as the raven sighed, snapping his book shut after marking his page and walked over to the stage and extended his hand to the other with a blank look upon his face.

Anger bristling, the younger made his way over to the edge of the stage, reluctantly taking the pale hand in his as the youngest Uchiha helped him down off the stage with a muttered complaint before he released his hand and headed toward the door. That mere minute of contact had Naruto's heart racing as he quickly followed, memories of Wonderland settling beside his own.

They were soon out in the hall, making their way along to the Nurse's office, the blonde was just several steps behind the dark-haired beauty and gritted his teeth at how possessive the other had been towards him inside Wonderland. But that was just a figment of his imagination, right?

"You really can't remember what happened, eh, dobe?" Sasuke asked him, looking over his shoulder at him with a raised brow. A faint blush swept over the whiskered cheeks while he hung his head and managed a small nod, giving a short answer to the older's question.

"Yeah, I really can't." He sighed softly, noticing the obsidian eyes examining him, softening as they did. Rolling his eyes, he saw the azure eyes become distant since the blonde was trying to reach into his memories and find the one that he seemed to be missing.

"You really are a dobe." The raven tutted, making the smaller lift his head and glare at him with a pink hue across his face which only made him more of an idiot. It took all of the Uchiha's self control not to grab him and slam him into the wall just to tell him how he felt but he had his pride.

"Shut up, teme!" The other grumbled, narrowing his blue irises while he tried to seem threatening and the older just laughed lightly, rolling his eyes once again. His heart hammered as the taller then pushed his glasses back up his nose still chuckling to himself as he walked with the blonde In tow.

"Sensei Hatake said not to kill each other. So, don't swing for me." The pale teen stated, just as they both came to a stop outside the Nurse's office. Giving each other a solid look, the elder then lifted his fist, knocking his knuckle off the door as to gain the Nurse's attention inside. They heard the shuffling on the other side, a moan and an impatient sigh.

"Yes?" Came the thin voice of the woman, opening the door and peering down at them with a narrowed look. Naruto raised his eyes, looking at Granny Tsunade - as she was called - with a sheepish grin upon his face as she then took in who it was and grunted, "What happened this time, brat?"

"Uh, drama light fell and smacked me on the head." The smaller blonde replied as she narrowed her eyes at the Uchiha beside him and stood aside, beckoning them both in with irritation in her movements.

"Fine. Fine. Come in." She watched the both of them enter, grumbling to herself as she shut the door and made her way over to the boy. Taking ahold of his arm, she lead the bronzed teen over to the bed and signalled him to get up onto it. While he did so, she turned on Sasuke, her eyes searching his, "I guess you saw what happened, Uchiha?"

"Yes, Tsunade. Naruto was arguing with Sensei Hatake about the play-" He began, shooting a glance over at the confused male before he was interrupted.

"Sounds like the brat." Tsunade cut in, sighing heavily and signalled for the other to go ahead.

"Right... Anyway, Shino was up on the upper levels of the stage fixing the lights when he knocked one down and it fell. It gave everyone quite a scare when it smacked into Naruto and he went down."

"It collided with the brat but still knocked no sense into him." She smirked, making the other splutter in protest, trying to get down from the bed but the female just pushed him back down and scolded him for being difficult.

"Naruto was unconscious and everyone went into panic when he didn't wake after thirty minutes." Sasuke continued, running his hand along the surface of the table beside him before raising his eyes to lock onto the two blondes, "He was in-out of it for another twenty before he came round and here we are."

"Baa-chan, I'm fine!" Naruto whined, shooting a glare over at the raven before struggling against the woman's grip while she pondered on the fact. Anger spiking, the younger pouted as he stared, "Seriously, you're always over reacting when I get injured!" Which only earned him a slap upside his head which caused the pain to tear through again and his brains to get shaken up once more.

"Shut it, brat! Uchiha, make sure the shrimp doesn't do a runner while I get an ice pack." With that she stood, walking to the door and vanished out of the door, leaving the two teens to shoot unamused looks at each other.

Pouting, the small blonde folded his arms, sulking on the matter as he stared at the fern green curtains that were draped across the windows. The walls were a soft cream colour, much like the other rooms in the school, with small images of stick people, painted on for the younger students, to entertain their minds.

Hearing the older click his tongue in annoyance, the blonde's eyes were drawn back to the full, slender frame of the ashen male who was cropped, leaning against the work top with a blank expression on his face while he drummed his fingers off his thigh. As if feeling the cerulean orbs on him, he swivelled his eyes to lock with them, narrowing them slightly.

"What is it, Uzumaki?" He asked, his voice straining his irritation with being stared at. Dark eyes staring at the tanned male, watching the eyes widen slightly before he smirked and the youngest Uchiha couldn't help but think the smirk looked out of place upon the plump lips of the latter.

"I was just thinking. You don't react to any of the girl's advances." Naruto stated, observing the way the pale lips moved into a taunt line and refused to respond to the statement at hand, "Do you like someone else?" The question was out before the younger could stop it.

Sasuke's eyes widened, his mouth falling open as he flushed lightly, "I-I may." He stammered, then regained his composure and narrowed his eyes at the other with a steely expression, "I don't see what this has to do with you, dobe." He stated, then glared at him with a darkening look in his irises.

"I was curious. You never seem to be attracted to anyone. No offense, I've started to suspect you're gay." The smaller scoffed, looking at the blush that suddenly appeared back on the pale skin once again and his eyes widened, getting the answer he'd not expected, "Y-You are?!"

"Shut up, dobe! You can't say much!" The young Uchiha shot back, watching the other flush in embarrassment and felt his mouth dry up at the mere sight. The many shades of blue that pooled in his orbs darkened as he looked at the ground with a shy look upon his face.

"I-I know that, teme! I was just curious. I would be lying if I said I wasn't attracted to you." The blonde mumbled, his face now burning red as he shuffled where he sat and diverted his eyes to the floor while he remembered each kiss they shared in Wonderland, "I knew you'd never like me th-"

He was cut off by a pair of familiar lips as they took hold of his in a captive, possessive moment that rendered his mind completely blown. Sasuke Uchiha was kissing him. Kissing him like he was in Wonderland. Was _this _acceptance?

**- F I N -**


End file.
